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People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

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

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

Inherited Issue

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

Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

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

They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

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

They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.

"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."

Path Ahead

Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."

After the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.

"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.

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