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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.

Inherited Challenge

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

Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

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

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

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

Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.

They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."