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People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Strict Policy Advocated

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

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

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

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

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

They noted the Pope 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 perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

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

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable 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 participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."