A local activist knew the problems within the Catholic Church were extensive but when they met survivors from all over the world and formed a national network, that’s when it really hit home.

Gemma Hickey, founder of the Pathways Foundation to promote healing and solutions for clergy abuse, says there is work being done to hold the Catholic Church in Canada to account but work still needs to be done.

Hickey, along with other survivors, are heading to Geneva this week with the new-formed national group ACTS, or Advocates for Clergy Trauma Survivors Canada. They are heading to Europe to attend UN meetings and meet with Vatican officials. During that time, Hickey says the church has no other choice but to listen.

Hickey says it just goes to show how large the problem is.

No matter where they go in the world, everyone knows the words “Mount Cashel” and no matter where they go in the world, the church’s response has been the exact same.