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People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.

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

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

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

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

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Deeply Felt Link

For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared 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," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

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

The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

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

They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff.

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.

"We understand 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 right direction," they stated.

They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."