Thursday, November 14, 2013

Policies for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults By Mark Schenk








Ø  Important topic of responsibility towards the order and church
Ø  General chapter passed many recommendations
Ø  What have we done to fulfill these recommendations
Ø  Many offences in the order and we don’t have special norms
Ø  Offences involves victims outside and within order too
Ø  People come to us for help because they have trust and we because of trust we exercise authority.
Ø  Order needs policies in the area of damage done to the victim
Ø  Due to the nature of the crime and of the victim, the abuse could remain hidden for decades while the abuser continues to hurt others
Ø  Without policy in place, a superior who receives an accusation against one of his brothers risks making rash decisions that could be harmful to one or both parties
Ø  The will of the universal church that all its dioceses have such a policy. Friars be covered by the policies of the dioceses in which they live and work
Ø  General curia will give a guide for the cases
Ø  In the areas of the world where policies do not et exist, we encourage the jurisdiction of the conferences to work together on a common policy
Ø  The structure of the Provincial policy:
v Care for the victim and the victim’s family
v Care for the accused
v Notification of civil authorities
v Investigation of the accusation
v Actions to be taken upon the conclusion of the investigation

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