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Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo 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 leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance 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 remarked.

Inherited Challenge

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

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared 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 aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "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 believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.

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

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

Accountability Emphasized

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

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism 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 relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

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