The Archdiocese of New Orleans will ensure that children and youth who worship, study, and participate in activities sponsored by the Archdiocese can do so in the safest and most secure setting possible.

The Archdiocese of New Orleans will provide training for clergy, minors, parents, and archdiocesan employees and volunteers who have regular contact with minors to make clear the standards of conduct for all persons in positions of trust with regard to abuse and neglect of minors.

A minor is any individual under the age of 18.

Training programs for adults will include the following:

1. Definitions of abuse and neglect

2. Procedures and policies used by the Archdiocese of New Orleans to prevent abuse/neglect

3. Signs to look for in identifying abuse/neglect of a minor

4. Signs to look for in identifying an adult who may be abusing a minor (in any way)

5. Louisiana law, archdiocesan policies regarding the reporting of abuse or neglect of a minor

   

Training programs for minors will include the following:

1. Age appropriate materials to teach personal respect and safety, including information

   about improper touching and relationships

2. Identification of trusted adults to whom they can go for help if he/she is abused

Background investigations of all volunteers and employees are to be completed prior to the time an adult begins working with minors.

Disclosed information is kept on file in the parish, school, office, or agency in a secure place. It is confidential and must be kept permanently in the personnel records.

The Policy Concerning Abuse or Neglect of Minors, the Principles of Ethics and Integrity in Ministry: Code of Ethics, and Archdiocesan Policy Regarding Youth Activities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans must be read by an employee/volunteer prior to working with minors. The appropriate forms must be completed, signed, and on file in the parish, school, office of the Archdiocese, or agency prior to working with minors.

Our dignity of belonging to Christ entails the demand that we should treat our bodies and the bodies of others with respect. (paraphrase CCC1004)

Each person has dignity and must be treated with respect. We show respect for each other in our language, behavior, and interactions with each other. Our respect includes the right to privacy for our own bodies.

“Teaching modesty to children and adolescents means awakening in them respect for the human person. (ccc 2524)

The Christian family is a communion of persons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (CCC 2204)

Parents are the primary educators of their children. The Church and school are partners with the family in educating, nurturing and protecting children.

Human beings were not made for solitude; they bear within themselves a relational vocation, rooted in their spiritual nature. Because of this vocation, they grow to the extentthat they enter into relationships with others, fully discovering themselves only in “a sincere giving of self.” (Gaudium et spes, #24)

Human beings are physical beings sharing a world with other physical beings. Implicit in the Catholic theology of the Imago Dei is the profound truth that the material world creates

the conditions for the engagement of human persons with one another. (Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God, #26)

Sexual abuse usually takes place in secret and is kept secret because the abuser fears discovery. Sexual abuse is often more difficult for a child to acknowledge than physical or emotional abuse, and the sexually abused child may feel more isolated. Children often blame themselves for the abuse; therefore, it is important to reassure the child that he or she is not responsible. The adult, not the child, is responsible for violating boundaries that the child could not maintain alone. (Walking in the Light: A Pastoral Response to Child Sexual Abuse)

“Only the light of divine Revelation clarifies the reality of sin... Only in the knowledge of God’s plan can we grasp that sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to createdpersons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another.” (CCC 387)

“Our obligation to protect children and young people and to prevent sexual abuse flows from the mission and example given to us by Jesus Christ himself.” (Charter for the Protections of Children and Young People, Revised Edition, 2002)

Parents and teachers have the responsibility to teach children to seek help when they are confronted with abuse, whether it be sexual, physical or any other abuse.