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People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem.

Global Strict Approach Advocated

The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.

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

"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.

Inherited Challenge

The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.

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For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.

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

The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.

They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

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

They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.

"He seemed interested in reviewing it," they remarked.

Responsibility Highlighted

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

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 expressed hope for future change.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.

They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."