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Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.

Accountability Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.

They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."