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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

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

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

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

Historic Meeting

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

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.

They added the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

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

They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey 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."

Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.

Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."