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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing 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 experience and seemed "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 commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

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

The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."