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People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Connection

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

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

Historic Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey revealed 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, they expressed 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 relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.

Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."