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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Strict Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."