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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."

Historic Encounter

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.

The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."

"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is advocating that changes 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 Pope Leo.

"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey revealed they told the Pope 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 expressed optimism for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.

Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."