N.L archbishop's letter a good gesture, but more work to do: Hickey

A letter from Archbishop of St. John's Martin Currie to hisparishionersis a step in the right direction, says activistGemmaHickey, but the response to the abuse scandals unfolding within the Roman Catholic Church remains inadequate.

"No. No, the response isn't enough, but Ido think that what's happening now is that people are mobilizing across the globe," Hickey told the St. John's Morning Show Tuesday of the overall response from the Vatican.

"And it is a global crisis, which is what Ireiterated in my letter to the Pope."

Hickey, who founded an organization for survivors of clergy abuse, wrote a letter to Pope Francis in response to the letter he released after wordof newabuse allegations and coverups in Pennsylvania.

Archbishop Currie referenced Pope Francis'sletter when speaking to the Morning Show Tuesday, saying that progress was being made in fighting abuse in the church.

"The Holy Father has set up a special commission to try to get to the bottom of all this and to make the church credible, so we can go on with our mission of continuing to do the good work that we do do in so many parts of the world," Currie said.

However, he acknowledged the anger felt by many Catholics, including those in his own diocese.

"I think they're discouraged, disheartened, ashamed," he said."And rightly so. I'm angry myself."

N.L.'ground zero' for abuse scandals: Hickey

Hickey is the founder of Pathways, an organization that helps clergy abuse survivors Hickey is transgenderanduses 'they'instead of the gender-specific pronouns she or he.

They is a survivor of clergy abuse themself, and points out that this province's history with the Catholic Church is particularly important.

"Newfoundland and Labrador is ground zero when it comes to this type of abuse," said Hickey, referencing the MountCashelOrphanage scandal that first became public in 1988.

"When allegations erupted here, they surfaced all over the world and that's important."

Currie said that early history of abuse investigations means that the Catholic Church in Newfoundland and Labrador has been working for some time to improve things.

When allegations erupted here, they surfaced all over the world.- GemmaHickey

"They thought we're just a backwoods here, but we took a very active part here at that time, back in the early '90s, and published the Winter Commission [report]," he said.

The Winter Commission wasappointed by then-archbishop of St. John's, Alphonsus Penney, in May 1989, to conduct hearings about abuse at Mount Cashel. The commission's report put some of the blame for abuse cover ups onPenney, who resigned following its release.

Currie is currently at the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in Cornwall, Ontario where one of the key items on the agenda is a new book called "Protecting Minors From Sexual Abuse: A Call to the Catholic Faithful in Canada for Healing, Reconciliation and Transformation."

The book,in the works since 2011, will hopefully be released to the public this week, Currie said.

"I think it's important that we have a document like this, so that all priests and all people will be aware that the church is trying to do the best we can to make our churches safe places."

Further scandals

Hickey said naming the types of church abuse, as Currie did in his letter, is a step in the right direction, but only one of the things that can be done, even within individual dioceses.

"It really is unfortunate, especially within places like churches, but unfortunately it's necessary," said they, of the need for such a document, decades after abuse scandals were first exposed.

And nearly 30 years later, newscandals are still being exposed.

On Tuesday, a report is expected to be released with details of the sexual abuse of more than 3,600 peopleover a period of 68 years within the Catholic Church in Germany.

Hickey believes that will not be the last revelations of such scandals, pointing to the particular vulnerability of people in developing countries andthe continued institutional power in the Catholic Church.

Still Hickey washeartened by the response from the public to their letter to the Pope just a few weeks ago, even if a response from the Vatican never comes.

"I hope that the Pope responds to my letter, of course," Hickey said.

"But really, I'm just so pleased that it's reached the people that Iwanted to reach other people out there like me who need that support."

With files from the St. John's Morning Show

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