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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy 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 certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.

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

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.

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