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Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

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

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

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

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Emphasized

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

The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.

Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."