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

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

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

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.

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

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."