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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.

The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.

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

Legacy Challenge

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

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

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.

They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."