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People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Issue

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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

Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

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

They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."

Moving Forward

The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.

They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."