Safeguarding is a duty that is rooted in the message of Jesus and the mission of the Church. The Catholic Church in Scotland aspires to the highest standard with regard to the care and protection of children and vulnerable adults, and actively promotes justice for, and provides assistance to those who have been abused.
The Catholic Church in Scotland, across every parish and Diocese, follows a set of policies and procedures which are detailed in document signed by each of the Bishops on 19th March 2018. This document is entitled "In God's Image" and instructs all those responsible for safeguarding, including clergy, religious, volunteers and employees, to follow the arrangements and to comply with the safeguarding standards which are set out in detail. These include:
These policies can be found in the recent safeguarding information leaflet produced by the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. The leaflet can be downloaded by clicking here.
The Catholic Church in Scotland, across every parish and Diocese, follows a set of policies and procedures which are detailed in document signed by each of the Bishops on 19th March 2018. This document is entitled "In God's Image" and instructs all those responsible for safeguarding, including clergy, religious, volunteers and employees, to follow the arrangements and to comply with the safeguarding standards which are set out in detail. These include:
- Creating safe church environments to protect children and vulnerable adults and to prevent harm and abuse.
- Requiring compulsory PVG membership for all clergy, employees and volunteers who work with vulnerable groups.
- Encouraging the public to report suspicions of abuse or harm.
- Mandatory reporting of all instances of abuse (recent or historic) involving church personnel to the police.
- Providing support, care and advice for survivors of abuse when they disclose their experience.
- Requiring every parish to appoint a Safeguarding Co-ordinator to support parish volunteers.
- Appointing specialist safeguarding staff in each Diocese.
- Establishing a team to assess and manage risk in each Diocese.
- Requiring clergy, religious, employees and volunteers to undertake regular training in safeguarding.
- Publishing annual figures relating to disclosed allegations.
- Establishing an Independent Review group to review and comment on the annual safeguarding audit.
- Complying with safeguarding legislation in Scotland.
- Aspiring to follow recognised best practice in safeguarding.
These policies can be found in the recent safeguarding information leaflet produced by the Bishops' Conference of Scotland. The leaflet can be downloaded by clicking here.
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The Safeguarding Co-ordinator for Saint Joseph's is Maureen Bruce. Maureen can be contacted confidentially by telephone or by email. It is Maureen's job to work with any groups operating on the premises, whether a parish group or not, and ensure they are following the best Safeguarding practice. Maureen works closely with the Parish Priest to carry out regular safeguarding risk assessments and maintain records of Parish volunteers. |