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People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism 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 papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

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

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.

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

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

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

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

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

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders 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 held accountable for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.

They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."