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People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

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

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.

Legacy Challenge

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

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

Deeply Felt Link

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

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

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

They added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

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

"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

Following the encounter, they expressed optimism 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 relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.

They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."