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

Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.

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

"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

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For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

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

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

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."

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

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.

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

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."