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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

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

The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

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

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

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

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

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

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

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" 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 feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to the pontiff.

"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.

Accountability Emphasized

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

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, they 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 building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."