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Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

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

They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.

They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."