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People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

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

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

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

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

They noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

After the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.

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