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Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed

The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.

Legacy Challenge

The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.

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For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.

"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."

Historic Meeting

Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.

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

The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.

Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."

"Survivors 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 genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."

Canon Law Reforms

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

They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.

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

Accountability Emphasized

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

The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."

Moving Forward

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

Following the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.

"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey commented.

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