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People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.

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

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Connection

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Encounter

Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

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

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The group is hoping that changes to church regulations 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 seemed interested in reviewing it," they noted.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

After the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.

Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."