Our Mission Is Ministry

Fall 2013

Patrick McGuire, MSW Let’s all review just a bit. The Safe Environment Programs were mandated back in 2002 by the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops leading to their development and implementation in the immediately following years. Here in the Archdiocese of New York, the actual roll out of the programs began in early 2004, which means that sometime early next year, we will all work past the ten year mark of active training efforts. 10 YEARS!

By holding all Church ministers, employees and volunteers who work with children and young people to Christ-centered and professional codes of conduct. This mission plays a part in an important mission of the Church – helping to raise children to have a healthy, mature, normal sexuality, so they can pursue the vocation to which God is calling them in life, whether that is the bond of marriage or the vocation to the celibate life, as well as in loving relationships like chaste friendship and parenthood.

If one is looking back to the beginning, then it makes sense to start with the reasons why. Why do we do this? What is the purpose? In other words, what is our mission? So let us review the mission statement of the Safe Environment Program, which is every bit as valid and sound as it was ten years ago.

The final paragraph is especially telling; transforming the practical mission to that of a That effort would be spiritual ministry. The staff and volunteers of our program absolutely in vain have stressed over all this without the time that they consider their dedication of all the efforts as ministerial and perform accordingly. The MANY volunteers underlying motivation, which and staff who give so so easily could have been freely of their time, based upon the worldly effort, talent, and necessities of simple safety and necessary caution, have Christian love to the always been to help lay a children of our foundation in which everyone community. involved lovingly and responsibly works to guide our children as they grow both physically and spiritually.

The mission of the Archdiocese's "Safe Environment Program" is to insure the safety of children and young people who have been entrusted to our care in our parishes, schools, religious education classes, and other programs.

That vision has never faltered and will continue to guide our efforts. But that effort would be absolutely in vain without the dedication of all the MANY volunteers and staff who give so freely of their time, effort, talent, and Christian love to the children of our community.

We pursue this mission in three ways: By thoroughly screening and supervising all Church ministers, employees and volunteers who work with children and young people as part of their ministry. By providing appropriate training in recognizing and reporting child abuse to appropriate civil and Church authorities.

Thank you, and thank you again for you countless efforts! And may our Lord, continue to guide you and bless you as you undertake your ministries now and into the future.

The administrative staff of the program has routinely updated and reviewed content for all trainings, but the passing of a complete decade begs somewhat for a critical view of what has stood the test of time programmatically. And the first subject to be critiqued offered enough interest to be worth sharing with all of those who are yet active in Safe Environment ministries throughout our region.

One Step At a Time Patrick McGuire, MSW Continuing this newsletter in the spirit of review, it seems appropriate to answer one of the most common questions asked since the inception of Safe Environment trainings in our Archdiocese: HOW are we going confront abuse? So this seems a good time to refresh with everyone how planning to prevent abuse uses different actions working together to build safer environments Regardless of the specific training program attended, the goal was to raise awareness regarding five specific practices that work together to help identify and eliminate abuse. These steps were:

Know the warning signs. Control Access. Monitor all programs. Be Aware. Communicate your concerns. You will note that the steps are not numerically ordered. The reason is that the steps need to all be practiced simultaneously, not one after the other. Likewise, our abilities to actually implement each step are limited by the descriptions and capacities of our individual duties. In other words, we each do our part, and those parts add up to a complete effort. That is, we work as a team throughout the Archdiocese. So never think for a moment that little has changed or nothing is being done. Every day, literally thousands of individuals put considerable effort into maintaining safe environments for our children and staff. Effort of that magnitude will certainly have an impact. So very quickly, let us go over each step and its function. Know the Warning Signs This step clearly defines itself and is put into play by those who are in direct contact with children. In the past, the average person knew little about how predators used their talents to manipulate children and the adults around them to obtain a position of trust which could be abused. So it makes sense to become familiar with such behaviors so that the opportunities to practice them can be eliminated.

Control Access This step is conceived in safety protocol and designed to be implemented by those with authority to supervise staff and volunteers. Quite simply, the ideas is to place traceable barriers via a screening process that clearly delineates acceptable behaviors and practices to ANYONE working directly with children. It also works to eliminate any ambiguity regarding personal/professional behaviors that perpetrators used in the past to couch their alibis in a reasonable-sounding framework. Monitor All Programs Certainly one of the more practicality-based steps that can be implemented to varying degrees by almost everyone. This step encourages the ACTIVE supervision of environments as well as the providing opportunities to suggest ways to improve the overall effectiveness of ministries via the encouragement of suggestions from interested parties. Be Aware This is a responsibility that falls squarely on the shoulders of direct care personnel and parents by promoting a greater understanding of behaviors exhibited by children who are at risk of abuse or already in abusive relationships. Proper practice of this step leads to earlier identification of inappropriate circumstances or conduct that need to be addressed and rectified. Communicate your concerns And finally, the most difficult step: Actively speaking up is the responsibility of any who profess to care for those around them. The other steps cease to be effective when communication goes awry. And after the horrific revelations about the extensive abuse that have come to light throughout our global society, communication barriers both willful and otherwise have started to fall like dominoes. Those with terrifying stories to tell no longer need to fear doing so. Those with uneasy feelings about the way things are running can safely discuss their concerns. And those who are in positions to effect positive changes are armed with sound knowledge as well as practices that are both effective AND ministerial. So you see; some do this and some do that. But all of us are doing things that add to far greater effort. And THAT much effort, without a doubt, has created loving, safer spaces for our children to grow. So thank you yet again for your ministry! Portions of this article are the copyrighted property of National Catholic Services, LLC, all rights reserved. They are reprinted here with National Catholic's permission. It originally appeared on the VIRTUS Online(tm) risk management website at www.virtus.org. For more information about VIRTUS Online or other VIRTUS products and services, call 1-888-847-8870.