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People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.

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