Tag Archives: Child Protection

Clergy sex abuse not about gay priests, top psychologist says

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(Editor’s note: Bishop Kopacz and the Diocese of Jackson continue to acknowledge the suffering that victims of abuse and their communities continue to experience. We continue to try an better understand this terrible reality in hopes of never repeating this history and of bringing healing to our communities. Research such as this article are an effort to move this reform forward.)

By Gina Christian
PHILADELPHIA (CNS) – Misconceptions people may have about sexual abuse, sexual harassment and homosexuality as elements of the ongoing crisis in the church can hinder efforts to address it, according to a leading psychologist and expert on the crisis.
The complex nature of each of the elements can make it “hard for the average Catholic in the pew” to grasp key differences among them, delaying the formulation of “good, smart solutions,” Santa Clara University psychologist Dr. Thomas Plante told CatholicPhilly.com, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
A prolific author who also serves on Stanford University’s faculty, Plante has spent more than 30 years researching and treating psychological issues among Catholic clergy and laypersons.
Although many blame the abuse scandals on homosexuality among the clergy, same-sex attraction does not make priests more likely to sexually abuse children, Plante said.
“It’s perfectly understandable that people could be confused by this, because we know that 80 percent or more of the clerical sexual abuse victims are boys,” Plante said. “So people conclude that if you get rid of homosexuals in the clergy, then you’ve got the problem solved. And it doesn’t work that way.”
Most of the clerical sexual abuse perpetrators have been “situational generalists,” a term used throughout extensive John Jay College of Criminal Justice summary reports, the most recent in 2011, to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Generalists do not have a specific sexual preference for youth, but instead “turn to children as a sort of substitute” due to psychological and emotional difficulties in bonding with peers, Plante observed.
Such individuals – who often exhibit issues with substance abuse and impulse control – “can’t develop successful, negotiated, intimate relationships with adults,” said Plante, who recently served as vice chair of the USCCB’s National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Youth.
Since generalist offenders seek readily available victims, boys have historically – though by no means exclusively – been a target for many clerical abusers.
“Priests for the most part had access to boys, and trust with boys, much more so than girls,” said Plante, noting that this proximity has led to the erroneous correlation between homosexuality and clerical abuse.
Only a small number of abusive priests – and of sexual abusers in the general population – can be formally classified as pedophiles, according to the clinical definition used by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in its “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM),” the authoritative guide used by mental health professionals worldwide.
“The classic pedophile is attracted to young, prepubescent children,” said Plante. Prepubescence is typically defined as less than age 11.
Priestly celibacy can also be discounted as an underlying cause of the clerical scandals. In an article Plante wrote Aug. 23 for “Psychology Today,” he pointed out that “the vast majority of sex offenders are regular men, often married or partnered, with 80 percent or more victimizing their own family members.”
Overall, men are far more likely than women to become abusers, which helps to explain the comparatively lower rates of abuse perpetrated by female religious.
This striking gap between the genders – with “90 to 95 percent” of perpetrators being male – is generally due to basic differences in the psychological makeup of the sexes.
“Men tend to have what we call more ‘externalizing’ problems when it comes to psychiatric issues, while and women tend to have more ‘internalizing’ problems,” Plante said. “Women are more likely to exhibit depression and anxiety, whereas men tend to act out. They’re more prone to commit violence and sexual exploitation.”
Plante also stressed that sexual harassment, perpetrated by a number of clerical superiors against seminarians, should be distinguished from child sexual abuse.
“Both involve power and sexual violation, but they are different,” he said. “Sexually harassing people at the workplace is not a sexual psychiatric disorder. It could be a personality disorder; it could be a variety of things, but it’s not a sexual disorder. Every industry, every organization has a problem with this issue, where people abuse power and sexually harass their subordinates.”
Historically, child sexual abuse has occurred in the church and in human society “since the dawn of time,” said Plante, noting that St. Basil decried the problem in the fourth century.
In the United States, incidents of clerical sexual abuse rose during the 1960s and 1970s, paralleling a society-wide increase in other problematic behaviors such as substance abuse and sexual experimentation. By the early 1980s, the number of cases began to level off, due in part to increased research, mandated reporting, awareness and intervention strategies.
Because the traumatic nature of child sexual abuse tends to hinder victims from disclosing their attacks until years later, recent legal investigations do not always reflect current levels of clerical abuse, which have declined significantly, Plante observed.
“I think the average person on the street thinks this is rampant today in 2018, when it’s not,” he said, adding that annual data collections, independent audits, safe environment training and zero-tolerance policies have proven effective.
Although ongoing vigilance is required, Plante is hopeful about the Catholic Church’s ongoing prospects for protecting youth from clerical sexual abuse.
“I think we are using best practices now,” he said. “Sadly, we can’t change what happened 30, 40, 50 years ago, and we treat those victims with great compassion and respect. But thankfully for everybody, today’s church is very different from yesterday’s church.”

(Christian is senior content producer at CatholicPhilly.com, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. For more perspective on this research, read Plante’s article from Psycohology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/do-the-right-thing/201808/separating-facts-about-clergy-abuse-fiction)

Cardinal: clear response to abuse crisis urgently needed

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By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Responding quickly and appropriately to the problem of abuse must be a priority for the Catholic Church, said Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
“Recent events in the church have us all focused on the urgent need for a clear response on the part of the church for the sexual abuse of minors” and vulnerable adults, he told Vatican News Sept. 9.
“Bringing the voice of survivors to leadership of the church is crucial if people are going to have an understanding of how important it is for the church to respond quickly and correctly anytime a situation of abuse may arise,” he said.
The cardinal, who is the archbishop of Boston, spoke at the end of the papal commission’s plenary assembly in Rome Sept. 7-9. Afterward, Cardinal O’Malley remained in Rome for the meeting Sept. 10-12 of Pope Francis’ international Council of Cardinals.
Cardinal O’Malley told Vatican News that in cases of abuse “if the church is unable to respond wholeheartedly and make this a priority, all of our other activities of evangelization, works of mercy, education are all going to suffer. This must be the priority that we concentrate on right now.”
The pontifical commission, he explained, is an advisory body set up to make recommendations to the pope and to develop and offer guidelines, best practices and formation to church leaders throughout the world, including bishops’ conferences, religious orders and offices in the Roman Curia.
The commission is not an investigative body and does not deal with past abuses or current allegations, but its expert-members try, through education, leadership training and advocacy, to “change the future so that it will not be a repeat of the sad history” the church has experienced, he said.
“There are other dicasteries of the Holy See that have the responsibility for dealing with the cases and dealing with individual circumstances of abuse or negligence on the part of authority, and our commission cannot be held accountable for their activities,” he said.
Most allegations of clerical sexual abuse are handled through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Commission members, however, have spoken with officials at various Vatican offices, including the doctrinal congregation. For those meetings, Cardinal O’Malley said he always brings a survivor with him “to talk to them about the church’s mission of safeguarding, and I think those (moments) have been very successful.”
Safeguarding training for bishops, priests and religious around the world is meant to help them become “aware of the seriousness” of abuse and negligence, “to be equipped to be able to respond” and to be able “to put the safeguarding of children and the pastoral care of victims as their priority,” said the cardinal.
A critical part of building awareness, he said, has been making the voice of survivors be heard directly by leadership. Every year when new bishops attend a course in Rome, the commission also addresses the group.

Church praised for proactive response on abuse but warned of complacency

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By Peter Finney Jr.
NEW ORLEANS – Despite groundbreaking steps the U.S. Catholic Church has taken to prevent the sexual abuse of minors in the past 16 years, a potential “complacency” in following safety protocols could pose a challenge to those hard-won advances.
Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the National Review Board, shared that view with diocesan safe environment and victims’ assistance coordinators attending the Child and Youth Protection Catholic Leadership Conference in New Orleans. The Diocese of Jackson was one of the sponsors for this conference and Bishop Joseph Kopacz delivered the closing address.
The 13-member lay board advises the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on safe environment protocols for children in Catholic parishes, schools and organizations.
In his talk June 6, Cesareo said that because a large percentage of abuse claims deal with incidents that happened many years and even decades ago, the issue may appear now to be less urgent.

“The church has responded very concretely to this question and very proactively, but one of the issues now is that because it is now historical – you have newly ordained priests who were children when this broke out – the urgency of it is not there,” he said. “You have bishops who are new. They weren’t there in 2002. The urgency is not there.”
Cesareo, who is president of Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, said he was pleased the church has shifted its conversation about sexual abuse of minors “from a legalistic approach to a more pastoral approach, which is very helpful in the process of healing and reconciliation and also in getting the church to understand the real pain that victims have felt and have experienced through the abuse.”
But, he said, because the church has done such a good job dealing with sexual abuse in the past 16 years, “there is this notion that this is a problem in the past, ‘we’ve dealt with it, we don’t have to put as much attention on it, we have the policies in place.'”
“That’s where the complacency comes in,” Cesareo said. “It’s like a hospital. You have the protocols in place and then suddenly someone dies in the operating room. All the protocols were followed, so why did this happen?
“We need to create a culture whereby the church is doing the same thing. Why did this happen? How do we prevent it? How do we strengthen what we’re already doing? That’s where the complacency issue is becoming problematic.”
Cesareo cited encouraging statistics from the most recent audit of how individual dioceses are performing under the U.S. bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People:” outreach and support was provided to 1,905 victims/survivors; training on abuse prevention and safe environment was provided to more than 4.1 million children and more than 56,000 priests, deacons and candidates for ordination; and background checks have been administered to 97 to 99 percent of all adults serving in ministry with children.
“That’s no small feat,” Cesareo told the conference. “Yet, we are not finished. We can never be finished.” Bishop Kopacz focused his talk on doing what he called “tightening the bolts” or revisiting and renewing efforts to create and maintain safe environments.
Some dioceses are going “above and beyond” the charter’s guidelines, Cesareo said.
Cesareo said accurate parish and school audits are vital in assessing compliance with the charter and also with diocesan policies. He suggested that individual diocesan review boards, which are called on to evaluate allegations of sexual abuse by clergy, should meet regularly – at least annually and ideally four times a year – even if no allegations have come forward, as the one in Jackson does.
“It is the belief of the (National Review Board) that diocesan review boards mitigate the risk that allegations will be mishandled and that possible offenders remain in ministry,” Cesareo said.
No other organization in the U.S. has done a better job than the Catholic Church has in setting up safeguards to protect children, he said.
“Absolutely and without any doubt, even though we don’t get the credit,” Cesareo said. “That is clarified, No. 1, by the charter; No. 2, by the audit process that’s in place; No. 3, by the policies and procedures that are in place. All the background checks, all the training that has taken place. There’s no other organization that’s doing what we’re doing.
“Catholics in the pew should feel very confident that their children are safe in our schools and in our parishes, that the church is doing everything it can to ensure that kind of culture of safety and healing and that we are being proactive and not forgetting that this has to be always at the forefront of everything we do within the church.”
The 13th annual conference, held June 3-6, drew more than 150 people from across the U.S. working in areas of safe environment, victims’ assistance and pastoral care.

(Finney is executive editor/general manager of the Clarion Herald, newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans).

Bishops approve changes to protection charter

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By Dennis Sadowsk
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CNS) – Changes in language to clarify several sections of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” were approved during the spring general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The changes are the first since 2011 as the work to update the document took several years to wind through the review process established by the bishops. Bishop Joseph Kopacz serves on this committee.
Among the changes approved is a provision that the review will occur every seven years instead of every two years.
Deacon Bernard Nojadera, executive director of the bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, told Catholic News Service that the change was made to reflect more accurately how long it takes for legal and canonical review of language to be completed.
While the review that led to the changes adopted by the bishops began in 2013, it took five years to complete because of questions that kept arising as the process continued, he said.
“The motivation behind all this is we want to make sure children are safe, period,” Deacon Nojadera said. “The bishops are making a statement that our churches, our parishes, are safe environments. Well, we need to back that up.”
The changes generally tighten requirements for all individuals working with children and add wording to individual articles of the charter or clarify terms used in the document.
Recognizing the explosive growth in digital platform use since the charter was adopted, a change in Article 2 adds a provision that dioceses will establish ways that digital media can be used to accept abuse allegations.
Article 4 inserts the clause “with due regard for the seal of the sacrament of penance” in describing the requirement to report an abuse allegation to civil authorities. Bishop Doherty told the general assembly that the clause was added because of recent challenges to the inviolability of the seal of confession.
Wording in Articles 6 and 12 was changed to clarify that all people who have contact with minors will abide by standards of behavior and appropriate boundaries. The previous language listed clergy, paid personnel and volunteers as those who must abide by such standards and boundaries.
A change in Article 9 adds wording that defines the method and the scope of the annual audit each diocese undergoes to determine compliance with the charter. The new language defines the audit method as the process and techniques used and the audit scope describes the “focus, parameters and time period” covered during an individual audit.
A sentence is being added to Article 10 at the suggestion of the National Review Board to emphasize that board members continue to monitor the recommendations of the “The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010.”
The study, undertaken by John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, examined the reasons for clergy sexual abuse. It was commissioned by the lay-led National Review Board and not by the bishops.
New language in Article 13 clarifies the process for obtaining letters of suitability for ministry for a priest or deacon not incardinated in a diocese who is ministering in the diocese It states that such a letter can be supplied by an appropriate ordinary bishop or religious superior.
Finally, Article 17 adds deacons to the commitment of diocese to strengthen formation program.

Pope meets his advisory commission on child protection

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By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In its efforts to help advise the pope, the Roman Curia, bishops’ conferences and local churches on protecting minors from abuse, a Vatican commission listened to abuse survivors from Great Britain and discussed the results of Australia’s public inquiry into its country’s institutional responses to abuse.
The plenary assembly of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) April 20-22 was the first gathering with a group of new members appointed in February.
Pope Francis met with the commission members in a private audience April 21 and had met the day before with Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, who is president of the 17-member commission. The commission secretary is U.S. Msgr. Robert W. Oliver, a Boston priest, canon lawyer and former promotor of justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The pope said he wanted to confirm the commission’s statutes, which were issued April 21, 2015, “ad experimentum” for a period of three years, according to a press statement by the commission April 22.
During their meeting, according to the statement, members “heard presentations on ‘The outcome of the Australian Royal Commission,’ on ‘The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child,’ and on ‘The role of faith communities in overcoming abuse trauma.'”
Members also listened to the survivor advisory panel of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission from England and Wales. An unidentified speaker from the advisory panel said, “I hope our visit will help the PCPM to develop a wider network of survivors who are willing to advise and support the ongoing work of the commission in a similar way.”
The panel’s contribution was meant to reflect the papal commission’s “ongoing commitment to ensuring that the thoughts and contributions of people who have been abused inform all aspects of the commission’s work,” the statement said, as well as “help the commission to develop effective ways to integrate the voice of survivors into the life and ministry of the church.”
After Pope Francis founded the commission in 2014, two abuse survivors were named as members. However, one survivor, Peter Saunders, was asked to take a leave of absence in 2016 after he publicly criticized the way some church leaders had handled accusations of abuse; the other survivor, Marie Collins, quit the group in 2017 over what she described as resistance coming from Vatican offices against implementing recommendations.
In February, the pope reconfirmed nine new members, including Teresa Kettelkamp, a former colonel in the Illinois State Police and former director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection.

Chancellor reflects on protection as diocese integrates new program

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By Mary Woodward
MADISON – I really never thought of how our diocesan protection of children training affected me until I went looking for some new shoes at a local sporting goods store recently. I could not decide between two pairs and I wanted a young person’s opinion as I was hoping to be “hip.”
Soon a girl who was probably 12 years old came into the shoe department by herself. I suddenly faced a dilemma – I am a stranger to her, should I speak to her when she is alone? And further, who lets their child wander through a store full of strangers by themselves?!
I don’t think those thoughts would have entered my mind had I not been through the safe environment training we are required to go through as diocesan chancery employees. Fortunately the child’s mother appeared and I was able to get the girl’s expert opinion because her mother was fully aware of what I was doing.
Every volunteer and staff member who works with children and youth on the parish, school and diocesan level must go through background checks and must participate in the diocesan protection of children program. All chancery employees must participate whether or not they work directly with children.
During the last year, the Diocese of Jackson has transitioned to a new program, called Virtus, for training and ongoing formation in the area of protection of children. During the week of Sept. 5, the diocese hosted three “training the trainer” workshops for parish and school leaders to learn how to train volunteers and staff in the Virtus Program.
Pat Neal, who has been with Virtus since its inception in 2002, led the sessions in Madison, Batesville and Tupelo. Representatives from parishes and schools spent the day viewing the videos and materials Virtus offers as part of its comprehensive and proactive approach to educating adults on recognizing and responding to abuse of children and vulnerable adults. They also were able to get clarification about how to administer the on-line programs on the local level.

“It is always good to have someone come from the national office to lead training and answer questions from our parish and school leaders,” said Vickie Carollo, coordinator for the Office of Protection of Children. “We have so many dedicated leaders who want to ensure we provide the safest of environments for our children and vulnerable adults. Pat [Neal] did a great job clarifying how the program can be administered and how to facilitate training for volunteers and staff on the local level,” Carollo added.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz was familiar with the Virtus program from his time in the Diocese of Scranton. He attended part of the session in Madison and stressed the importance and effectiveness of Virtus.
“Bishop Kopacz now serves on the U.S. Bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children, so he is very invested in the success of our diocesan program,” said Carollo.
According to Crispin Montelione, Associate Director of the Virtus Programs, “Virtus was created and piloted before our country really realized there was a sexual abuse problem as pervasive as it was and before the 2002 sex abuse scandal in the church erupted culminating in the Bishops’ Charter via the USCCB meeting in Dallas in June of that year.
“This is important because a lot of people assume that the program was reactionary, and in response to the ‘sex abuse crisis.’ But, the program was created and piloted due to the concern of a board chairman before the world realized there was a crisis as pervasive as it was. Monsignor Kevin McCoy noted that sexual abuse existed and asked the board what we could do about it – and everything took off from there.”
“Virtus was the first proactive program geared toward educating adults on how to protect children. Everything else at the time was focused on training children as the primary protectors of themselves,” said Montelione. “Instead, we train the adults as the primary protectors, and we also train children to learn about how to protect themselves when caring adults are not around.”
The program has trained more than three million individuals through 255,376 training sessions since January 2002, and is becoming more and more international. Within the U.S. Church, VIRTUS has 140 diocesan and eparchial relationships out of the 196 Catholic arch/dioceses and eparchies, in addition to other independent Catholic institutions in the U.S. A neat fact, in 2016, VIRTUS Online had almost four million website visits from people in 172 countries and every continent except Antarctica.
According to Carollo, approximately 15,000 individuals have been screened and participated in training during the past 14 years. She sees Virtus as an extremely positive initiative for the diocese in its constant efforts to protect children in any environment and to educate adults on being more aware of and able to recognize abuse of children and how to respond.
One of the key formational aspects of the program are the monthly online bulletins. Reminders to read for each bulletin are emailed monthly to everyone in our diocesan database. The bulletins address a wide array of topics such as online pornography, neglect as a form of abuse and how to recognize it, and abuse of the elderly. Each bulletin has a question at the end to be answered and submitted online.
Reading these bulletins caused me to pause before approaching the child without her mother or father around. It is through these bulletins that I have become more aware of the surroundings when I go to my nieces’ and nephews’ events. It is amazing how much more aware I am of possible risks.
We all have a responsibility to protect our children in every arena of society. The Virtus program is a well-designed process to help us do just that. For more information visit the Virtus web site at www.virtus.org.

(Mary Woodward is the chancellor for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Creating culture of compliance, transparency, trust

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By Bishop Joseph Kopacz
In this week’s column I am highlighting our diocesan office for the Protection of Children to mark the 15th anniversary of the Catholic bishops’ Dallas Charter, also known as the Promise to Protect and the Pledge to Heal, promulgated in the midst of the sexual abuse crisis in 2002. This is in sync with the report to the Catholic bishops by the head of the National Review Board at our just finished conference in Indianapolis.
A summary of this report is included in this publication (see page 1) as well as the homily of Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta during the bishop’s Mass of Prayer and Penance at the Conference (see page 16). The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) wrote and promulgated the Charter in 2002 in order to hold accountable all Catholic dioceses, eparchies and religious orders serving in the United States with respect to their commitment to protect children and young people. Most recently, I was appointed to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ standing committee for the protection of children and young people and it is a privilege to serve this cause. During the last 15 years, the Diocese of Jackson has worked earnestly to create a culture of compliance and transparency to protect our children and young people as well as to provide the opportunity to heal for those who suffer from sexual abuse. Furthermore, all credible allegations are reported to law enforcement, whether or not the statutes of limitation have run.
What are we up against? By its very nature the demon of child sexual abuse feeds on secrecy, manipulation and lies and its deeds must be brought out of darkness into the light of truth, healing and hope. Wherever and whenever it occurs the abuse of minors is a crime and maintaining a steady state of vigilance on behalf of our children and young people is our diocesan standard. Those who have the urge to abuse minors are driven by their baser instincts and safe environments undoubtedly keep the wolf at bay. We can never become complacent. You might ask, what precisely is the Diocese of Jackson doing on a regular basis to cultivate a culture for safe environments?
The diocesan office for the protection of children, directed by Vicki Carollo, and under the auspice of our vicar general, Father Kevin Slattery, is accountable for achieving the goals of the Charter by participating in an annual audit performed by Stonebridge Business Partners. Stonebridge is contracted through the USCCB. The Diocese of Jackson has been found compliant with all articles of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People each year since 2003.
Each employee and volunteer working with children and young people receives a booklet containing the policy of the diocese with various components on the prevention of child abuse and procedures to be followed when reports of child abuse or sexual misconduct by church personnel are received.
Since October, 2002, the Diocese of Jackson has initiated criminal background screenings and safe environment training sessions for 14,647 adults. There are currently 4,934 active employees and volunteers working with children and young people in the diocese.
A criminal background screening is conducted prior to and during an applicant’s service. A criminal background rescreening is initiated every three years. All clergy, religious, employees and volunteers working with children and young people must complete the screening process and the Diocese of Jackson application. Applicants sign a form acknowledging they have read and understand the policy prior to beginning a ministry.
The Diocese of Jackson has designated that all new employees and volunteers working with children and young people participate in an initial safe environment training session facilitated by a diocesan trainer. Each new applicant is required to sign an attendance record of the training attended.
Beginning in September, the Diocese will implement VIRTUS’ Protecting God’s Children Awareness Program for new employees and volunteers. The program educates adults on how to better protect children from abuse. There are three training-the-trainer sessions scheduled in September.
All active employees and volunteers working with children and young people participate in VIRTUS’ web-based program. This online program consists of a monthly safe environment bulletin. The adult reads the bulletin, answers a multiple-choice question and submits the answer to VIRTUS. The bulletins provide invaluable knowledge and ongoing formation for the prevention of child abuse.
Children and young people in the parishes and schools are required to receive an annual age-appropriate safe environment lesson. The lesson is designed to help children keep themselves safe by providing the important skills they need to protect themselves from abuse. The lesson additionally provides dialogue between children and adults about keeping safe.
Each parish and school presents a parent information meeting annually. Parents have an opportunity to opt their children out from the safe environment lesson. Of course, we hope parents who decide to opt out will review the lesson material with their children on their own.
The Diocese of Jackson is committed to ensuring that no one being served by the church be at risk of sexual abuse or exploitation by clergy, religious or lay church personnel. The parishes and schools work very hard to stay in compliance with the Protection of Children program.
Recently, the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection included our Protection of Children Electronic Communications Policy in the new “resource toolbox.” This is certainly an accolade for our program. The resources are shared with all Catholic dioceses in the United States.
Like a finely-tuned engine the above course of action has many moving parts and is only as strong as its weakest link or non-implemented step. Complacency and/or shortcuts can put a child or young person in harm’s way and this is a violation of trust. Striving for excellence with safe environments in all church related gatherings is our goal in the Diocese of Jackson.
To achieve this high standard, it takes the full and active participation of many throughout the diocese. Thank you to all who serve on behalf of our children and young people. These are God’s children, members of the Body of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit. May they thrive as members of our church.

April recognized as Child Abuse Prevention month

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JACKSON – April is recognized nationally as Child Abuse Prevention Month. The Catholic Church across America use this month as a way to reinforce the message that the Catholic Church is committed to protecting children. The following is from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and reflects both diocesan and national promise to protect and pledge to heal.

You Can Help

You can help prevent the abuse of children. Know the warning signs of offenders. They prefer to be with children. They go overboard touching, wrestling or tickling. They may give minors alcohol or drugs or show them pornography. They allow children to break the rules. Offenders act as if the rules do not apply to them.

If you observe an adult who is not behaving appropriately with children, speak up. Let someone know what you saw. You are not accusing anyone of anything. You are letting someone know you care, are watching, and are concerned that no harm is done to a child.

You Can Get Help

Abuse is never the fault of the person harmed. It is always the responsibility of the offender. The reality is that most victims of abuse know their abuser. One in four females and one in six males report being abused as a minor.

If you or someone you know is a victim of abuse there are things you can do, even if the abuse happened years ago. Call the police to report the abuse. If the abuser was in a position of authority in an organization, you should also report the abuse to that organization. If the abuse happened in a Catholic church or school, contact Valerie McClellan, Victims Assistance Coordinator for the Diocese of Jackson, at 601-326-3728.

The Charter

In Dallas in June of 2002, the bishops of the United States adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The Charter is the plan of action developed by the bishops to address the clergy sexual abuse scandal.

Part One- To Promote Healing and Reconciliation with Victims/Survivors of Abuse

The wording of the Charter is very clear on the importance the bishops place on their responsibility to help victims find healing and reconciliation. It states, “The first obligation of the Church with regard to victims is for healing and reconciliation.” Outreach takes a variety a forms including extensive therapy, apology meetings, spiritual retreats, and Masses for healing.

In 2016, outreach was provided to 1,760 victims and their families.

Part Two- To Guarantee an Effective Response to Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors

All dioceses are to report allegations of sexual abuse of minors to public authorities. All clergy who have been found guilty or admitted guilt are permanently removed from ministry. There are clear standards of behavior and appropriate boundaries for all clergy employees, and volunteers.

Part Three- To Ensure the Accountability of Our Procedures

The mission of the Bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People is to advise the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on all matters related to child and youth protection. The Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection was established in 2002 by the USCCB. The National Review Board is a consultative body that reviews the work of the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection and advises the president of the USCCB. In addition, each diocese has a review board to advise its bishop in his assessment of allegations and in his determination of a cleric’s suitability for ministry. To prove their commitment to accountability, dioceses undergo an annual audit conducted by an outside auditor.

Part Four- To Protect the Faithful in the Future

Dioceses train clergy, employees and volunteers to create and maintain safe environments for children. The backgrounds of clergy, employees, and volunteers are evaluated to determine if someone should be allowed around children and young people.

More than two million parish employees and volunteers, and 4.2 million children have been Safe Environment trained to recognize the behavior offenders and what to do about it. Training was also provided to 159,764 educators, 258,978 other employees, 35,475 priests, 16,294 deacons and 6,847 candidates for ordination.

Background evaluations have been conducted on more than 2 million parish volunteers and Church personnel who have contact with children. Seminary screening has been tightened and transfers among dioceses of clergy who have committed abuse against minors are forbidden.

Child Protection workshops set

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By Maureen Smith
JACKSON/TUPELO – The Office for the Protection of Children is offering two August workshops for those who teach child protection classes. The workshops will expand upon and enhance what trainers and teachers learned in training sessions last year, especially for those working with middle and high school students.
The diocese uses Praesidium’s “Called to Protect” program. “This will be a more in-depth look at the youth program,” explained Vickie Carollo, director of the Office for the Protection of Children. “We will expand into bullying prevention and responses,” she said.
Audrey Oliver, a safety analyst from Praesidium is coming to present the workshops. “We will look at some of the supplemental lessons dealing with healthy boundaries in dating and peer relationships and healthy boundaries in electronic communications,” said Carollo. Bullying, she said, continues to capture headlines nationwide so these lessons are timely and important as school and parish youth programs get started again in the fall.
The workshops are primarily for those catechists, youth ministry coordinators or parish leaders who present the child protection lessons to their communities, but pastors and other catechists are welcome to attend.
“Called to Protect” is a nationally-recognized program designed to teach children how to protect themselves from sexual predators, how to set healthy boundaries, what to do if someone tries to violate their boundaries and what to do if someone they know is being abused. It has age-specific lessons from young children though high school. These workshops focus on the middle and high school lessons.
The first workshop is Friday, Aug. 8, from 9 a.m. – noon at Madison St. Joseph School in the Fine Arts building. The second is Saturday, Aug. 9, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Tupelo St. James Parish in Shelton Hall. The workshops are free, but Carollo asks that those who wish to attend let her know by July 15 by emailing vickie.carollo@jacksondiocese.org.