Pope Francis has recently changed the dialogue dealing with abuse within the church environment. It is important that we no longer talk about sexual abuse in a philosophical way by comparing the rate of abuse within the clergy, as it is in the general population. We are not hiding these horrific events, but instead exposing and proactively combatting any abusive situation within our Church’s view. When Our Holy Father met with victims of abuse last week, he made the path clear for our Church:
For some time now I have felt in my heart deep pain and suffering. So much time hidden, camouflaged with a complicity that cannot be explained until someone realized that Jesus was looking and others the same… and they set about to sustain that gaze. …
On the other hand, the courage that you and others have shown by speaking up, by telling the truth, was a service of love, since for us it shed light on a terrible darkness in the life of the Church. There is no place in the Church’s ministry for those who commit these abuses, and I commit myself not to tolerate harm done to a minor by any individual, whether a cleric or not. All bishops must carry out their pastoral ministry with the utmost care in order to help foster the protection of minors, and they will be held accountable. …
I ask this support so as to help me ensure that we develop better policies and procedures in the universal Church for the protection of minors and for the training of church personnel in implementing those policies and procedures. We need to do everything in our power to ensure that these sins have no place in the Church.
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-homily-at-mass-with-sex-abuse-survivo
Saint John takes our responsibility to all our parishioners and those we serve extremely seriously. We have met with all the leaders of the Ministries to describe our Safe Environment Program, as well as the new Ministry Invigoration (https://legacysite.sjecc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Ministry-Invigoration.pdf). This new initiative, which builds on the Diocesan requirements for Safe Environment Training and background checks, will enable us to not only meet a minimum obligation set forth by the Diocese, but fosters an inclusive and collaborative community where all members of the parish can assist in programs and events. Saint John will join several other parishes in our Diocese as well as many around the country to include this Safe Environment as part of our Ministry and volunteer efforts. We already have programs, from the Mulching Days to Fish Bakes to Homebound Eucharistic Ministry to Soup Kitchen Support, that we should have our Safe Environment completed for, and now we will ensure all future programs, events, and Mission work are able to be accomplished in an inclusive and collaborative way.
The advantages of including the Safe Environment as part of our entire Ministerial programs are clear:
- Teaches all members of the parish about safety, including how to spot issues for vulnerable adults and some of the safety concerns for members of their families
- Creates a mentoring atmosphere where youth and young adults (18-95) can focus on service, social, and educational programs together
- Helps Ministries with their efforts by letting other members of the parish assist when additional support is needed
- Creates a protective environment for youth and vulnerable adults to be included in church activities
The inclusion of Safe Environment to all our efforts is not a reactionary effort, nor is it a direct focus on any person or group in particular. It is not a requirement that would compel a Ministry Member to get fingerprints and take the class before they are allowed to continue their ministry. Instead, we hope that parishioners will want to be included in our programs, so they will attempt to fulfill these steps as soon as feasible. These steps are non-intrusive (it is not a credit check) and only for those Ministries that are actively engaged in parish activities (prayer groups are not included). The focus of this effort is not only to protect vulnerable adults and youth from abuse, but also inform and educate our entire parish on abusive situations so that we can empower our parishioners to speak out when something may be wrong. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin addressed these efforts last week:
Today we have moved beyond any climate of suspicion to one of cooperation and we thank God for the progress that has been made on all sides. We also thank God for our ability to recognise that the road that we all still have to travel is long. The greatest harm that we could do to the progress that has been made right across the Church is to slip back into a false assurance that the crisis is a thing of the past…. Abuse can and does still take place. Abuse will remain a wound in the side of the Church until the day on which every single survivor of abuse has achieved the personal healing he or she deserves.
We need to develop a new awareness that what has happened has wounded the entire Church and that now the entire Church is called to put right what has happened. The entire Church is called to put itself right in its relations with the kingdom and with Jesus Christ. Healing is not just a question for the counsellors; it is a theological and ecclesiological necessity.
The only Church response must be one which attempts to bring healing to a wounded Church through robustly responding to all those who have been wounded by abuse. The healing of the Church comes through how the Church works to heal survivors.
The Church must not just be transformed into a place where children are safe. It must also be transformed into a privileged place of healing for survivors. It must be transformed into a place where survivors, with all their reticence and with all their repeated anger towards the Church, can genuinely come to feel that the Church is a place where they will encounter healing.
http://www.news.va/en/news/sexual-abuse-is-a-wound-in-the-side-of-the-church
We want Saint John to be an inclusive and engaged Catholic Community. In order to make it as easy as possible to fulfill these Safe Environment steps, Saint John will be the first parish in the Southern Venice Diocese to place a fingerprint station on our campus. Saint John will reimburse the cost of the fingerprinting so there will not be a cost barrier. However, if people volunteer to cover their cost of fingerprinting and help the parish with the expense it would be appreciated and can be considered a gift-in-kind. We will also continue to have Safe Environment classes directly on the campus of Saint John throughout the year. Please join us in living our Mission, To Know, To Love, and To Serve God in His Church and Our Community, through a safe and loving environment here at Saint John. If you have any specific concerns or questions, please feel free to contact Jean-Paul Boucher, Director of Family Mission and Communications at [email protected] or 239-566-8740.