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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

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

The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

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

Inherited Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.

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

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.

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

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.

They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance 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 noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

Hickey 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 voiced optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.

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