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Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

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

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

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

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

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."

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

Church Regulations Reforms

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

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

"He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, Hickey voiced 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 persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."