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Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Legacy Challenge

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

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia 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 measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

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

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, they 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, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.

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