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Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

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

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

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

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

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

Following the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.

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

Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."