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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

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

Significant Meeting

Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, 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 strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.

They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."