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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

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

Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.

Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."