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Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.

Inherited Issue

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

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

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

Significant Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

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

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted 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 receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they informed the pontiff 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 meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," 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 narrative ends - he valued that."