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Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Strict Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Challenge

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

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.

Accountability Highlighted

A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

Hickey revealed they informed 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 encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change.

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

Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."