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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

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

Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed

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

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.

Legacy Challenge

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

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted 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, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Path Ahead

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

After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.

Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."