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People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Meeting

Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Survivors 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 sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.

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