Priests are warned against making ‘disparaging remarks’ on social media in a new safeguarding document drawn up by the Catholic bishops of England and Wales.
The guidelines, Pastoral Standards and Safe Practices in the Conduct of Ministry, sent to every bishop, secular and religious priest and deacon, set out how to guard against abuse and recognise it when it occurs.
“Our Lord declares that one of the gravest sins is to cause one of his ‘little ones’ to stumble, to cause them to lose faith. The sexual abuse of a child or an adult at risk constitutes this gravest of sins,” the document states.