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People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.

Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."