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People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Policy Pushed

The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, 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 "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

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

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

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

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated.

Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."