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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Strict 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 sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

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

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.

"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

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

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."