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Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

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

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.

Inherited Challenge

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

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented 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 campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

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

Significant Meeting

Seven members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

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

"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation 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 end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.

Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."