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People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

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

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.

They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."