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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

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

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

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

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted 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, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.

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