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People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Approach Pushed

The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented 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 resistance," they remarked.

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff 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 Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

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

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.

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