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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated

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

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

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.

Inherited Issue

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

Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

Personal Link

For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.

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

Historic Encounter

Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.

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

Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Changes

The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.

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

Accountability Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

Hickey 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 expressed 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 connection and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they stated.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."