The National Board has created a series of short videos on a particular aspect of the Theology of Safeguarding. The nine videos have been commissioned from theologians, scripture scholars and ethicists who live and work in Ireland, Italy and the United States and will be shared throughout 2021.
The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland produce regular newsletters.
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Guidance, Advice and Practice Papers published by National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland.
1: Child Safeguarding & Digital Media
This paper intends to inform good child safeguarding practice in the Catholic Church in Ireland. It begins by providing a definition of what is meant by Digital Media, then sets out important references relevant to this topic including policy, legislation, international treaties and EU directives which reference aspects of children’s rights that have informed policy development. The paper also provides research references and evidence based information on the harmful effects of child pornography, online grooming and other forms of abuse that use electronic media. The paper concludes by providing practice guidance on how ministry with children can incorporate the use electronic and digital media in ways that are safe, for both the child and the adult user.
2: Compassionate Response to Complainants
This paper is complementary to the 2016 Safeguarding Children – Policy and Standards for the Catholic Church in Ireland and to the published Guidance available on the NBSCCCI website. It provides more detailed information on the scriptural and theological background to the Church providing care and support to complainants, as well as indicating ways in which this can be done both compassionately and effectively.
3: Caring Pastorally & Managing Respondents
This guidance is procedural in nature and therefore unavoidably somewhat ‘clinical’ in tone and content. This paper has been written to address the more human considerations that arise for respondents and their families, their friends and colleagues, as well as for their Ordinary and others who have a responsibility to safeguard children.
4: Communicating the Church’s Safeguarding Message
This paper aims to expand on what is contained in the Guidance and to explore some of the issues that might be considered when applying Standard 6. It will look at Communication and what it entails, in terms of thoughtful planning and delivery: And it will examine what the Church’s safeguarding message is and how it fits into the wider Christian message.
5: Enabling a Child Safe Church
This paper will identify the principles and approaches to creating a child safe Church, develop an understanding of situations of potential risk, and how these can be assessed and managed. Whatever is our ministry, its focus must at all times be ensuring the safety of children.
6: Shedding Light on Vos estis lux mundi
VELM was written in the aftermath of a unique gathering of Church leaders in February 2019, to consider and address the abuse of children in the Church and the response made by those in a position of authority. Given the importance of this apostolic letter, this GAP paper seeks to consider the implications for Ireland, considering each article in turn and the themes that it aims to address.
7: Information Sharing to Safeguard Children
This GAP paper examines some of the difficulties of information sharing to safeguard children in the Catholic Church, and highlights guidance from data protection experts that assists in overcoming these. The aim of the paper is to provide a detailed description of the legal requirements and best practice guidelines for safeguarding children, while doing the same with the legal requirements and best practice guidelines for data protection.
Paper 8: Children’s Rights: Child Safeguarding & the Catholic Church
This GAP paper will begin by exploring the definition of children’s rights, and the role of the Holy See in the realisation of these rights. Consideration will then be given to specific rights relevant to Child Safeguarding mentioned within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), as they apply to safeguarding children in the Catholic Church in Ireland. Finally, the paper will discuss what constitutes a children’s rights approach, and the contribution that Church child safeguarding personnel can make towards upholding rights in practice.
Paper 9: Leadership and Child Safeguarding
This paper seeks to consider the importance of good leadership in safeguarding; as well as the qualities of a good leader, and what such a person can do, to develop a safe Church, and a safeguarding culture which is open to review and change as new challenges emerge.
Paper 10: Adult Safeguarding – Current Context in the Catholic Church in Ireland
This paper sets out what they key Issues are that need to be considered when providing safe ministry to people who are vulnerable, namely,
• capacity and consent;
• integrity in ministry; and
• human rights.
It then addresses the challenges around managing risk.
