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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Strict Policy Pushed

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

The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse 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 drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned 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 pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.

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