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Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.

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

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met 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 "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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

They added the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.

They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."