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

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed

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

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

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

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

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

They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

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

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."