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People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

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

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

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

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

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

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"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 genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.

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

"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

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

Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.

Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."