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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

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

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

Inherited Issue

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

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

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

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

The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

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

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

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

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

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."

Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.

Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."