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Policies, procedures and guidelines for Ethical and Responsible Conduct in Ministry The Diocese has recently updated its policies for clergy, religious, employees, and volunteers in this area. The policies are now known as "Policies, Procedures and Guidelines for Ethical and Responsible Conduct in Ministry", and include norms of conduct, preventive measures, directions for the reporting of suspicious behavior or for making allegations, investigative procedures, and disciplinary steps to be taken as is appropriate. Reports can be made to:
Forms:
Bulletin Announcement 2004:
Protecting God’s Children The Diocese of Brownsville continues in its long-standing positive and proactive approach to this sensitive issue. Sexual abuse of children is not tolerated and timely responses are made to all allegations of violations of sexual boundaries. The Diocese is fully implementing the nationally recognized "Protecting God’s Children" program of sex abuse education/prevention.
Protecting God’s People As the Catholic faithful of the Valley, we share responsibility for the life and mission of the Church. Each of us is called to celebrate, promote, and when necessary to defend the life and dignity of every person. This awesome responsibility demands that we treat everyone with respect, do what we can to see that harm is never brought to others, especially minors and vulnerable adults, and seek to bring healing for those who have been harmed. To help achieve these ends, the Diocese of Brownsville has taken the following steps: • Appointed an Assistance Coordinator to offer immediate assistance to victims. • Adopted new Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines for Ethical and Responsible Conduct in Ministry. • Introduced a nationally recognized safe environment program of education and prevention of child sexual abuse called Protecting God’s Children. • Established a policy requiring criminal background checks of all clergy and religious, of all church How to Report Suspected Misconduct Suspected misconduct with minors by lay church personnel should be reported to the pastor of the parish, the principal of the school, or the head of the Catholic institution in question. Suspected misconduct with minors by a priest, deacon, or religious should be reported directly to the Bishop or Vicar General at (956) 784-5067 or (956) 542-2501; to Walter Lukaszek, Assistance Coordinator, (956) 784-5066; or to Sr. Norma Pimentel, Director of Social Services, (956) 784-5075. Letters to the Vicar General or Bishop should be sent to P.O. Box 2279, Brownsville, TX 78522-2279. Upon request, a form for a Confidential Notice of Concern may be obtained from the local pastor, school principal, institution head, or diocese, or it may be downloaded from this page. By state law, anyone who suspects abuse or neglect of a minor must report it to local law enforcement officials or to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services at 1-800-252-5400.
Review Board for the Protection of God’s People The Review Board for the Protection of God’s People serves
as a confidential body to advise the Bishop in matters of policy, prevention
of misconduct, and on responses to allegations of misconduct.
last updated 24-Jun-2010 17:02 sitemap |
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