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

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

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

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story 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 felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

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

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "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 understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.

They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."