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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign 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.

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

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.

Accountability Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," 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 appreciated that."