Established July 4, 1926
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"If any person may have been abused by any priest, they should immediately contact their local County Prosecutor's Office and the Diocese's Victims Assistance Coordinator: Dr. Ken McNiel at 972-879-1489. You may also be in touch with either of the Diocesan response officers: Rev. Msgr. James T. Mahoney, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, 973-777-8818 Ext. 205 or Sister Joan Daniel Healy, S.C.C., Chancellor/Delegate for Religious, 973-777-8818 Ext. 248.
The entire text of the Poicy of the Diocese of Paterson in response to Complaints of Sexual Abuse is available on the diocesan web site: www.patersondiocese.org." -
Training: Child Abuse Prevention
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Child Abuse Prevention Training
The following is the required training for clergy, employees and adults who volunteer for the Diocese of Paterson. The Diocese utilizes programs created by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group under the brand name VIRTUS. -
Protecting God's Children
Child sexual abuse is a worldwide public health issue. Child abuse, particularly child sexual abuse, is reprehensible—especially when the wrongdoer is affiliated with the Church. The Diocese of Paterson uses the curriculum licensed from VIRTUS Protecting God's Children®
Child abusers seek to operate and abuse their power within nurturing, child-friendly environments where it is assumed that nobody would want to harm a child. Religious organizations of all faiths are an easy target. The Protecting God's Children program implements safety mechanisms that send a message to all abusers and potential abusers:
- Child abuse is not tolerated,
- Children are vigilantly protected,
- Victims are listened to, heard, and shielded from further abuse, and
- Offenders are identified and punished.
By utilizing best practices for training and loss prevention, the Protecting God's Children program helps make churches safe for all people—especially children. -
How Does It Work?
Maximizing a church's role as a child-safe environment begins with making adults more aware of the ways children and adults interact with each other. The Protecting God's Children program educates and trains adults (clergy, religious, teachers, staff, volunteers, and parents) about the dangers of abuse, the warning signs of abuse, the ways to prevent abuse, the methods of properly reporting suspicions of abuse, and responding to allegations of abuse. -
Training Adults To Protect Children
The purpose of the training is to make adults working with children in the Church aware of how to protect children. -
How Long Is The Training Session?
Our Protecting God’s Children program for adults is a three-hour live program. This awareness session makes trainees understand the signs of child sexual abuse, the methods and means by which offenders commit abuse, and five empowerment steps one can use to prevent child sexual abuse. -
Additional Training
Continuing online training is a valuable component of the Protecting God’s Children program for the continued awareness of child abuse.
Click here to register for Child Protection Training