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People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

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

Global Strict Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

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

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

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

The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."