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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

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 Advocated

The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

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

"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned 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 report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.

Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."