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Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

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

They noted the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

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

The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.

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