Catholic Outlook August 2015

6 CatholicOutlook August 2015The Diocese is committed to providingoutreach initiatives and support servicesThe Catholic Diocese ofParramatta’s Office forSafeguarding and ProfessionalStandards (the Office) wasestablished on 1 July 2014 toensure that there are robustsystems in place to keep childrenand other vulnerable people safewhen they are involved in theactivities of the Diocese.The Office is committed to theposition taken of ‘no excuses,no cover ups’ and strives towork towards the preventionof abuse through the provisionof education, investigation,research, compliance, andoutreach initiatives.Current outreach initiativeA communication strategyhas been developed to reachout to unknown survivorsof abuse who have beenharmed as a consequenceof their engagement inministries of the Diocese.This outreach campaignis being promoted throughdiocesan communicationchannels to parishes,Catholic schools, ministries,Church agencies and thewider community.The campaign is one ofnumerous initiatives that aimto provide the community withan opportunity to be heard ifthey hold information abouthistorical and/or current abusesuffered at the hands of CatholicChurch personnel in WesternSydney and the Blue Mountains.Advertisements are runningin local newspapers in WesternSydney and the Blue Mountainsand on diocesan online andsocial media channels (see panelon the bottom of this page).Information about thecampaign is available on adedicated website:www.safeguarding.org.auPeople coming forward withcomplaints or information cancall a response line (02 99330233), which will be in operationfor the duration of the campaignfrom 7am to midnight, sevendays a week.This response line will bemanaged by skilled professionalswho are engaged as a first pointof contact for people who wish tocome forward.For all other inquiries aboutthis outreach initiative, peopleare encouraged to phone theOffice for Safeguarding andProfessional Standards tel(02) 8838 3400.About the OfficeThe Office provides educationto all diocesan institutionsabout risk managementstrategies, current issues, andlegislative obligations.This is predominatelyundertaken through thefacilitation of trainingsessions, forums, conferences,and the production ofresource materials.The education is informedthrough ongoing extensiveresearch into current issues andrisk management strategies.The compliance branch ofthe Office serves as a resourcefor diocesan institutions inensuring their understandingand implementation of statutoryrequirements and diocesanpolicies.The Office also undertakesobjective investigationsinto complaints andsafeguarding issues.The Office works under thedirection of Paul Davis. Paul hasbeen engaged with ProfessionalStandards initiatives of theDiocese for more than a decade.He has a background in law,education, and investigations.The Manager, FrancesRush, joined the Office forSafeguarding and ProfessionalStandards team in January thisyear. Frances has worked forthe Royal Commission intoInstitutional Responses to ChildSexual Abuse.She has more than 30 yearsof social work experience inboth the governmental and nongovernmentalsectors.A Training and ComplianceOfficer, Asante Viswasam, joinedthe team in June this year with abackground in human rights, riskassessment, and child protection.Most recently, Asante workedfor the Office of the Children’sGuardian in the OperationsTeam of the Working WithChildren Check.The Office is supported byExecutive Assistant, CorrinaSerrano, who comes to theteam with Royal Commissionand Attorney General’sDepartment experience.The Diocese has been involvedin the processes and inquiriesof the Royal Commission intoInstitutional Responses toChild Sexual Abuse, which wasestablished in January 2013.The purpose of this RoyalCommission is to investigatehow institutions like schools,churches, sports clubs, andgovernment organisations haveresponded to allegations andinstances of child sexual abuse.Through its involvementin the Royal Commission theDiocese has strengthened itscommitment to provide outreachinitiatives and support servicesto the community.PUBLIC FORUM ON PAPAL ENCYCLICALLaudato Si’‘Praise be to you’Saturday 15 August,10am to 4.30pmA forum onLaudato Si’, the new encyclicalfrom Pope Francis, will be held in theDiocese of Parramatta on Saturday 15 August.Everyone is welcome to participate in this forum, which is hostedby the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) andHoly Family Parish, Mt Druitt.• What is Pope Francis saying in his encyclical on human ecologyand the environment?• What is the scientific explanation for global warming?• What global effects have we seen already and what canwe expect?• What does this mean for us?• Apart from the humanitarian response, what actions can ordinarypeople take to help stop the problem from getting much worse?• How do we live out this aspect of our mission as people of faith?Speakers:Fr Gregory Jacobs SJ,Parish Priest of Holy Family ParishProf Neil Ormerod,Professor of Theology at Australian Catholic UniversityDr Hamish Clarke, Senior Climate & Atmospheric Scientist, NSWOffice of Environment and HeritageThea Ormerod, ARRCC PresidentVenue: Loyola Senior High Hall, 91 North Parade, Mt Druitt.Light lunch and refreshments provided – $10 suggested donationRSVP: Thea tel 0405 293 466,chair@gmail.comDetails:http://www.arrcc.org.au/ news-a-events/event/details/298Further information:The text of the encyclical is available on theVatican website: http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.htmlA key source of information about the encyclical is the website ofCatholic Earthcare Australia: www.catholicearthcare.org.au