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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.

"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.

Legacy Issue

The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.

Personal Link

For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.

"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."

Significant Meeting

Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."

"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Changes

The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.

They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to the pontiff.

"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."

Path Ahead

The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.

They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."