Keeping All God’s Children Safer Never to be Forgotten

Keeping All God’sAll
ChildrenGod’s
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Volume 6, No. 2
Keeping
Children
Safer
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Protection of Children and Youth Initiative (PCYI)
Volume 6, No. 2 | Winter 2013
Never to be Forgotten
In this Issue
By Sharon Tomlin, PCYI Curriculum & Leadership Liaison, Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
Page 1
 Never to Be Forgotten
 Principles for Child Protection
The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis recently participated in a USCCBauthorized audit regarding our response to the Charter for the Protection of Children
and Young People. PCYI staff members are grateful to all employees, volunteers and
parishioners who support the Church’s efforts to prevent child sexual abuse
through 1. participating in the “Essential Three” (background checks, training and
agreeing to a code of conduct) and 2. assuring all children are taught personal safety
rules. What can sometimes be forgotten are the ongoing efforts of the Church
to meet the needs of victims, survivors and their families.
Within The Charter and included in the audit forms, dioceses across the country are
instructed to pastorally care for the needs of victims and to document diocesan
efforts. This work is most often done quietly and yet diligently in order to protect
the identity of victims and their families.
The Charter includes the following guidelines:
 To Promote Healing and Reconciliation with Victims/Survivors of Sexual Abuse of Minors
(Articles 1 – 3) with Bishops responding pastorally and assuring the availability of a
Victim Assistance Coordinator in his diocese;
 To Guarantee an Effective Response to Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors through
cooperating with civil authorities (Article 4), disciplining offenders (Article 5), having clear standards (codes of conduct) of behavior and appropriate boundaries
(Article 6), and having open and transparent communications (Article 7);
 To Ensure the Accountability of Our Procedures (Articles 8 – 11) through having a
USCCB standing committee (Committee for the Protection of Children and
Young People), a national Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection responsible
for an annual audit process and annual public report, and National Review Board,
as well as requiring the President of the Conference to report annually to the
Holy See the Church in the United States’ commitment to the protection of children and young people.
Page 2
 Smartphones, Tablets, and Too
Much Information
 A Call for New VIRTUS Facilitators
 Ministry to Vulnerable Adults
Training from APM
Reminders
 Interesting articles about protecting children & youth and related subject matter
are available at: www.virtusonline.org.
 New facilitators for VIRTUS will be
trained on March 21 & 22, 2013. Send an
email to PCYI@archspm.org to receive
registration information
 Most PCYI documents you need can be
downloaded from the PCYI pages of the
Archdiocese’s website.
www.archspm.org/departments/pcyi.
What would you like to
see here?
 To Protect the Faithful in the Future (Articles 12—13) through creating a safe environment for children and young people that includes both training adults and minors, as well as conduct background evaluations on all employees and volunteers.
If you find a relevant article to share,
discover a helpful solution for PCYI
concerns, or have a topic you would like
addressed here, please email us:
PCYI@archspm.org
“Mary, Mother of the Church, continue to care for the most vulnerable
through the efforts of God’s People.”
Principles for Child Protection Catechesis
for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis
#2 of 10
“God lives in relationship as the community of divine persons in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that we call the Blessed Trinity.
Human persons are created to live in community; the smallest and most intimate of which is family. Family, in God’s image, respects and cherishes the uniqueness and life of each of its members. The Church supports parents as the first educators in faith.
Parishes and schools are partners with the family in educating, nurturing and protecting children. ”
References: Luke 2:51-52; Catechism of the Catholic Church 2205-2210.
next time… Principle #3
Protection of Children and Youth Initiative office: pcyi@archspm.org | Fax: 651-290-1628
Sharon Tomlin 651-290-1622 | Maya Rose 651-251-7742 | D. Lynette Forbes-Cardey 651-291-4501
Victim Assistance Coordinator: sawyerg@archspm.org | Greta Sawyer 651-291-4497
Keeping All God’s Children Safer
Volume 6, No. 2
Page 2
Smartphones, Tablets, and Too Much Information
Many of us have smartphones and tablet PCs. These are great tools with many handy built-in features. There is also an abundance
of useful and fun apps for these devices. But, there is a risk associated with them that may not be obvious to all those who use
them.
Smartphones and tablets may have a GPS built into them. Even without a GPS, your location may be known if you log onto the
internet using a WiFi “Hot Spot”. Your location will be automatically added to a post made to Facebook, FourSquare, Twitter, or
other social networking sites from a smartphone or tablet if the location tracking feature is turned on. There is also a “Check-In”
feature which quickly creates a post of your location, such as: “Betty Sue is at the Yarn Barn in Big City, MN.” When photos are
taken with a smartphone and this feature is enabled a location code may be saved within the photo itself. So that when you post
the picture to a social network site that location is shown.
These features are helpful when mapping a location or making a photo travelogue. This is a fine tool for adults to share information
online. But, it is NOT a good thing for youth to share their current location online.
Remember to turn off the GPS or location tracking feature on your smartphone or tablet before allowing minors to post with the
device. And, be sure to check profile settings on social networking sites and disable location tagging of photos and posts. If your
child uses such a device, insist that these features are disabled and check their profile privacy settings. Remember, social networking sites, such as Facebook, make frequent changes to their features. You will need to check every so often to be sure your child is
not sharing too much information.
NOTE: Disabling the GPS feature on a smartphone WILL NOT prevent law enforcement from using the device to help locate a
person in an emergency.
More tips for keeping kids safe online are available from the Parents & Guardians area of www.netsmartz.org.
A Call for New VIRTUS
Facilitators
New VIRTUS facilitators will be trained for the Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis on Thursday March 21
(9AM to 5PM) and Friday March 22 (9AM to 3 PM).
Training will be at the Hayden Building of the Chancery
in St Paul. We need facilitators in both English and
Spanish languages.
Who can be a VIRTUS facilitator? To become a
facilitator, you must: have attended a VIRTUS session,
have submitted to a background check at your parish
or school, sign a code of conduct specific to VIRTUS
facilitators, submit a letter of recommendation from
your Pastor, and attend the entire training session
(both days).
Ministry to Vulnerable Adults Training
“Ministry to Vulnerable Adults” training is available to volunteer coordinators or other ministry leaders throughout the archdiocese.
This training was created by a task force of the Association of Pastoral
Ministers (APM) St Paul/ Minneapolis to prepare and support those
who minister to vulnerable adults.
Approximately twice a year, members of the task force provide a
three hour ‘train the trainer’ session. During the session ministry
leaders gain information specific to ministering to vulnerable adults
and are given resources to prepare others. A complete set of materials is given to each trainer. Included in these materials are: a PowerPoint presentation on CD for training, masters for printing training
hand-outs, plus materials for continued learning. Each leader then
trains those at the parish who will be ministering to vulnerable adults.
What will be taught? Participants will learn everything needed to facilitate VIRTUS sessions. This includes: suggestions for handling various situations in a
session, answers to frequently asked questions, additional resources on related topics, and how to handle
the minimal paperwork associated with VIRTUS sessions.
The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, under
which PCYI and VIRTUS operate, is focused on children, youth, and
those adults whose ability to reason is that of a child. Adults may be
vulnerable in many other ways: financially, physically, and emotionally
to name just a few. While there is content available through VIRTUS
regarding vulnerable adults; that is not their main focus. The need for
training those who minister to vulnerable adults was what motivated
this APM task force.
Why should I consider becoming a VIRTUS facilitator? VIRTUS facilitators support the work of the
Church and help protect children by providing essential
information for those who serve with our children.
To learn more, please contact Mary Ann Kelly-Wright at
Mkelly@stjoan.com or visit http://www.apmspm.org/mva to see a
comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions list.
For enrollment information email us at
PCYI@archspm.org
NOTE: This training does not replace VIRTUS training for those who
work with children or youth.
Protection of Children and Youth Initiative office: pcyi@archspm.org | Fax: 651-290-1628
Sharon Tomlin 651-290-1622 | Maya Rose 651-251-7742 | D. Lynette Forbes-Cardey 651-291-4501
Victim Assistance Coordinator: sawyerg@archspm.org | Greta Sawyer 651-291-4497