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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, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.

The Pope acknowledged 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," they stated.

Legacy Issue

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

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

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

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.

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