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Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

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

Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed

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

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

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

Legacy Issue

The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

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

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

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 misconduct or negligence."

The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.

They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."