Protect Our Children

New organisation to tackle doctrinal and moral child abuse

Fr John O'Neill PP

Contents - Oct 2007 - Buy a copy now Editorial: Australian Catholicism in the balance - Michael Gilchrist Catholic Life: Sydney's Pastoral Plan ready for implementation in 2008 - Michael Gilchrist News: The Church Around the World Events: Book Launch: Advancing the Culture of Death, by Rev Dr Peter Hung Tran More of the same: Retired Sydney bishop calls for a radical overhaul of the Catholic faith - Michael Gilchrist Queensland: Liturgy in Brisbane and the rights of the laity - Michael Apthorp Sacred space: Sydney seminar promotes improved church architecture and art - John O'Brien A Christian sceptic's challenge: why atheism has no answers - Babette Francis Sacred language: New US liturgy head endorses revised Missal translation Truth: And the Light shines in the darkness: the meaning of true ecumenism - Andrew Kania Protect Our Children: New organisation to tackle doctrinal and moral child abuse - Fr John O'Neill PP Letters: Bishop Robinson - Fr Edward P. Evans Letters: Moral standards - Don Gaffney Letters: More on Vatican II - Peter D. Howard Letters: Catholic education - June See Letters: Mass attendance - John Schmid Letters: Nonsense - Frank Bellet Letters: Teaching position available in France - Br John Moylan CFC Letters: St Therese Church Torquay demolition threat - Charles Haber Poetry: Mother to Son - Bruce Dawe Books: JOHN HENRY NEWMAN: In His Time - Tim Cannon (reviewer) Books: SPANISH ROOTS OF AMERICA - Tim Cannon (reviewer) Events: Cardinal Pell to celebrate Latin Mass - 3 November 2007 Books: Books available from AD Books Reflection: Archbishop Hickey on the Christian concept of marriage - Archbishop Barry Hickey

Hardly a day goes by without individuals in the Church starting up new organisations, many of them seemingly designed either to provide an outlet for some strange new guru to regale us with his or her weird theological inventions, or to set up meaningful, cuddly-soft associations in which we can discover ourselves.

Well, just to add to the organisational traffic jam, there is yet another one, hopefully good this time, but, sadly, necessary.

This one is called Protect Our Children Agency, having been set up in order to protect Catholic children from doctrinal and moral child abuse arising from the content or the method of teaching in Catholic schools or in any church organisation responsible for teaching the Faith.

In practice, the Protect Our Children Agency will accept written complaints about abuses and take action to prevent such things in the future. Any complaints must be brief and factual, giving details such as the person or persons involved and the nature of the offensive material.

Where possible copies of any printed matter involved should be provided. If not, the evidence of at least two witnesses along with the time and place of the offensive incident is needed.

Obviously, the witnesses' names and contact information would need to be known to the Agency, but should they so wish they would otherwise remain anonymous, and therefore free from any possible repercussions.

Action taken by the Agency would be simple enough, consisting of forwarding material to the appropriate bishop, parish priest, person responsible, e.g., school prin- cipal, or controlling body, such as the local CEO.

This organisation was initially prompted by the scandalous showing in a Catholic classroom of a video of a vasectomy operation, scarcely suitable for any audience, and definitely not for a gender-mixed group of Year Nine students.

Any complaints should be forwarded to The Secretary, Protect Our Children Agency, 17 Cameron Street, Doonside 2767, NSW, fax: (02) 9622-3376.

The Agency does not list an email address as it prefers not to be flooded with undesirable spam messages.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 20 No 9 (October 2007), p. 13