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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

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

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

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

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

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."