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Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.

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

Inherited Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

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

Church Regulations Reforms

The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

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

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."