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Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. 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 Hickey.

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

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.

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

Deeply Felt Link

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

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

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

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

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

They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

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

Path Ahead

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

After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.

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

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