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Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated

The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.

Inherited Issue

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

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

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

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

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

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.

Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."