Darkness to light

By Sam Lucero
News and Information Manager

Our transition into spring is a reminder that new life follows darkness. This maxim is expressed in longer days, budding trees and warmer temperatures. Another example of new life replacing darkness exists within our church.

The darkness that accompanied the priest sexual abuse crisis earlier this decade has transitioned into a new life of hope, one characterized by child abuse prevention programs that have become models for other institutions.

In 2002, the U.S. bishops issued the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. This charter required, among other things, that each diocese set up a safety education program for children.

In the Diocese of Green Bay, Catholic schools are required to offer the equivalent of three classes per year on the issue of appropriate and inappropriate touching. Public school students attending religious education classes attend one class each year, according to Ann Fox, director of the diocesan safe environment program.

Schools and religious education programs can plan their own curriculum, said Fox, but programs must incorporate 10 points:

• Each human being is created in the image and likeness of God. Our bodies are sacred and holy.
  
  
• We are blessed with families and loving communities to help us grow.
  
  
• We must differentiate between safe, unsafe, and unwanted touch.
  
  
• Because each person is made in the image of God, each person must be treated with dignity and respect. This respect includes respectful privacy of our own bodies.
  
  
• The God-given gift of choice has consequences.
  
  
• Some actions or behaviors are wrong or sinful. Behavior or actions that harm self or others physically, psychologically, or spirituality are wrong.
  
  
• We must differentiate between good and bad play and avoid keeping secrets.
  
  
• Each of us experiences good and bad human relationships and friendships.
  
  
• Children/youth/vulnerable adults must be provided with basic information to enable them to be safe and protected by the adults in their lives. The task of keeping children safe is shared by families, extended families, their neighborhood and community, and their school and church.
  
  
• Children/youth/vulnerable adults must identify a number of trusted adults to go to for help.

The goal of these safety education programs is to teach children how to recognize and avoid situations that could lead to sexual abuse. They also encourage communication between children and their parents so that dangerous situations and incidents are reported promptly.

The church has come a long way in promoting safe environments for children. That is why April's observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month should not pass without recognition. In helping parishes mark this observance, Fox and Karen Bass, safe environment assistant director, have distributed a guide to parishes containing steps parents and leaders can take to prevent child abuse. It urges parents to:

• Teach your children about healthy relationships. Discuss the mixed messages children receive through the mass media every day.
  
  
• Know about your children's lives and who they spend time with.
  
  
• Make sure teachers and school administrators at your children's school are trained in sexual violence dynamics and prevention.
  
  
• Don't accept sexist jokes, bullying or other practices of gender or sex discrimination from your children.
  
  
• Make sure your child knows what to do in the event of an assault.

The diocesan Web site, www.gbdioc.org, offers a "Protecting Our Children" link which can be accessed by clicking on the red "Our Diocese" tab. The page has several printable versions (PDFs) of guidelines for parents and educators.

Through safe environment programs, the protection of young people has become one of the U.S. church's most significant and worthwhile outreach efforts. It took a dark episode for the church to move into this enlightened era, and by marking such observances as Child Abuse Prevention Month, all of us can help keep the movement alive.