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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

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

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

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

The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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

They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, 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," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."

The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.

Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."