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People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated

The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Issue

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

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled 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 hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

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

Moving Forward

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

After the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.

They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."