She will provide support to dioceses, congregations and Catholic organisations in the continued implementation of safeguarding practices around New Zealand.

NOPS is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Catholic Church's policy and procedures for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.

Bishop Steve Lowe of the National Committee for Professional Standards says "all dioceses have confirmed adoption of a national safeguarding policy which sets consistent expectations of how to develop and maintain safe environments in all of our Church entities."

NOPS is developing a range of support materials and resources to support parishes and others wanting to implement safeguarding practices.

A key initiative is the rollout of safeguarding workshops to support volunteers and employees undertake their roles safely and with confidence.

Dioceses are at various stages of delivery of Workshop One, which is for all those who work with or provide ministry to children and/or vulnerable adults.

Director of the NOPS, Virginia Noonan, is overseeing the national safeguarding roll-out and has been meeting with various groups of people in each diocese to support this work.

Ko te mahi a te Tari Paerewa Ngaio-a-Motu (NOPS), ko te whakarite i te mahere rautaki, ko te tutohu i nga tikanga mo te kaupapa here me nga tukanga to te Hahi Katorika mo te haumarutanga me te manaaki i nga tamariki me nga pakeke paraheahea. E hangaia ana e ia etehi rauemi hei awhina i nga pekanga a te Hahi kia noho haumaru ona kainga.

Ko te haepapa a NOPs ko te whakautu i nga whakapae e pa ana ki nga mahi tukino i roto i te Hahi me te tirotiro i nga whakapae tukino a te kahui amorangi, hunga parata me nga whaea tapu.

NOPS sets the strategic direction and ensures compliance of the Catholic Church's safeguarding policy and procedures for children and vulnerable adults.

NOPS is also responsible for responding to complaints of abuse in the Church and overseeing the investigation of complaints of sexual abuse against clergy and members of religious orders.

Source

Supplied: New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference - Te Huinga o nga Pihopa Katorika o Aotearoa

Speakers included Virginia Noonan, director of the Catholic Church in New Zealand's National Office of Professional Standards which handles sexual abuse complaints involving clergy.

Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust chairman Phillip Chapman also spoke.

Bishop of Dunedin Michael Dooley said it was a chance for priests to receive a refresher on safeguarding protocols designed to protect children and vulnerable adults.

Priests were also briefed on a new, streamlined code of conduct which spelled out behavioural expectations "and the consequences if it's not done" which included dismissal, he said.

The code included a requirement for all allegations to be taken "seriously" and reported in line with church protocols.

The one-page document covered all volunteers and employees within the Catholic Church, he said.

Police vetting and psychological tests already required of those wanting to enter a seminary were also being extended to other parts of the church, he said.

Dooley said priests across the diocese were "feeling the crisis" facing the church, as the extent of historic sexual abuse by clergy was revealed within the Dunedin diocese, in other parts of New Zealand and internationally.

Media publicity helped encourage victims to come forward, but there was still room for priests within the diocese to upskill in "what they do practically," he said.

The gathering also reflected developments in the Vatican, where Pope Francis has just completed a month-long Synod on Youth which included discussion of the church's child abuse scandal.

Source

• odt.co.nz
• Image: odt.co.nz

Starting next year, the one semester course will be offered by the Center for Child Protection at the university.

The diploma will be awarded at the close of a residential course.

The programme aims to form persons who will eventually become child protection officers for dioceses, religious congregations, and similar organisations, as well as advisors and trainers in the field of safeguarding.

In addition to exploring the psychological, pastoral, canonical, and practical approaches to safeguarding minors, the course will also address a systematic theological approach to the topic.

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