THE TABLET
August 2, 2008

The Catholic Vote

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Following up on an article from two weeks ago regarding the issue of sexual abuse of children, I want to inform you of the efforts that are being made by the Diocese to protect our children in all circumstances from any type of abuse.  In 2002 and then again in the meeting of 2005, the Bishops of the United States adopted and then revised the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” a national plan protecting our young people entrusted to our care. 

There are four goals expressed in the charter:  1) to make adults aware of sex abuse and to train them to recognize warning signs in their immediate environment; 2) to conduct background searches for those who are in any way interacting with youth under our auspices; 3) to have those trained in awareness sign codes of pastoral conduct, and finally, 4) to provide safety training for children and youth so that they might defend themselves against any type of sexual abuse.         

In order to implement this program and others, the Safe Environment Program Office was opened in August of 2004 under the care of Sister Pat Hudson, C.S.J., who holds a doctorate in counseling and is well prepared to minister this complex program of training, conducting background searches and administering codes of pastoral conduct.  The office has continued to grow, especially through additional staff, the work of volunteers and the 12-member volunteer advisory board who assist Sister in implementing this program. 

What are the programs that we sponsor?  First, the goal of the program is to assist priests, deacons, pastoral ministers, employees and volunteers who have access to children, to be aware of any signs of sexual abuse with the children with whom they might come in contact.  By means of a program, “Virtus---Protecting God’s Children,” all adults have the opportunity to continue training and to be updated in the latest understanding of sexual abuse.  All adults must have background checks conducted that could reveal any past criminal activity that might endanger children entrusted to our care.  Finally, codes of pastoral conduct are required for all those who attend the Virtus training program and these codes require a signature.  These are guidelines for pastoral activity.  Anyone who seeks pastoral ministry in the Diocese of Brooklyn, as well as employees and volunteers, must participate in these programs.

One of our biggest challenges is assisting our children in religious education programs since we have limited contact with them.  This program is conducted through a child safety program called “Child Lures,” which demonstrates to children how a predator might attempt to lure them into unsafe and dangerous situations, and teaches them how to protect themselves from predators.  This year there will be safety education presentations, not only in our religious education programs, but in our Catholic schools as well.  This will attempt to have our children protect themselves from any type of abuse.  Our activities extend to the Catholic Scouting programs, Catholic high schools, and high school youth ministry, so that all diocesan contact with youth is covered. 

Protecting God’s children is a tremendous responsibility that the Church has, and must fulfill.  The Church has always been in the forefront of child welfare programs from the days when unattended Catholic children were given adoption and foster care programs as well as orphanage placement.  Today, more than ever, the Church must be in the forefront of good child welfare and protection practices, most especially in the selection of pastoral ministers, both for priesthood and the diaconate.  The Diocese is using much-improved screening and evaluation techniques to identify anyone who might have a proclivity for endangering youth.  The Church has taken every possible precaution to insure that its pastoral ministers not only are trained in identifying potential problems, but also that they themselves will not be the cause of these problems.

Most importantly, for adults, there are several things that we should be aware of since all of us are charged with protecting God’s children.  First, it would be good to understand the warning signs that children might be subject to abuse or any kind of danger.  Second, it is important that parents control the access that children have to other adults.  Any and all programs that might assist parents in understanding how to carry out their responsibilities are important to pursue.  Most of all, those charged with the protection of children, not only parents, but others to whom they have been entrusted, must be aware of any kind of danger and communicate that concern to those who can do something about it.  It is so important today that we protect our children.

One particular area worth speaking about is the Internet.  Every new means of communication can have much criticism leveled at it.  I remember my grandmother telling me that in the 1870s, as a young girl, her father, who was already in the United States, hired a tutor so his children could learn to read and write, since there were no schools available in the village in Italy.  The criticism was so great that her mother had to stop the classes since many in the village believed that if they learned to read and write they would communicate with their boyfriends and girlfriends.  I remember also being taught in school by one of the Sisters that the telephone was the work of the devil, since there too can unprotected communication occur between children. 

What can we say today about the Internet?  Communication’s achievement in modern history also has, besides its benefit, many difficulties attached to it.  Information unfortunately can be harmful when those receiving it do not know how to process it.  Parents must be particularly careful in supervising their children in the use of the Internet available to most children on their computers. 

While computers have advanced the educational possibilities for children, they have also exposed them to many dangers because of the various Web sites available.  There are many helpful Web sites for parents who wish to learn how to protect their children on the Internet.  The Safe Environment Program Office (718-281-9672) has a list of these resources that can be of benefit and are available to parents for use in protecting their children.

As we endeavor to protect our children, we must “put out into the deep” waters of this society that sometimes neglects the needs of young people in favor of unbridled access to information.  No one can protect a child as well as its parents. My hope is that   the Church can assist parents in this.  We will make the resources in the Diocese of Brooklyn available for this purpose.