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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.

Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."