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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

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

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.

"He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.

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