PERTH ARCHBISHOP SETS WORLD FIRST IN PREVENTING ABUSE

By James Parker
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth
July 05, 2015

http://tjhcouncil.org.au/media/104127/150705-MEDIA-RELEASE-Archdiocese-of-Perth-Perth-Archbishop-sets-global-first-in-preventing-abuse.pdf

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, the Catholic Archbishop of Perth, will launch a Safeguarding Project at the 11.00am Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Perth today, Sunday 05 July as a bold response to protect children and prevent further abuse. This is the first diocesan project of its kind to be established in the 28 dioceses of Australia’s Catholic Church.

“Child sexual abuse is a terrible problem,” said Archbishop Costelloe, “and it simply has to be dealt with.

“I believe there will be some very specific recommendations that will come out of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. But while we wait for these, we shouldn’t just sit back and do nothing. Children need to be protected today.

“The Safeguarding Project is at the heart of our determination to make sure the present and the future are completely different from the past.”

The Archdiocese of Perth’s Safeguarding Project, spearheaded by Andrea Musulin, Executive Officer of Protective Behaviours WA Inc and a police officer specialising in the areas of child protection, domestic violence, and school based policing, will establish at least two safeguarding officers in each of the Archdiocese’s 105 parishes. These officers will be at the heart of the local community and the first port of call for matters concerning the protection of children and any possible disclosure of abuse.

The project will educate parents, church personnel and members of the clergy. It will also instruct young children from age 4 to 18 years about sexual abuse and its prevention thereby seeking to significantly reduce future opportunities for sexual abuse to occur. This latter aspect of the project is believed to be a world first.