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People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.

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

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