6 CatholicOutlook August 2015
The Diocese is committed to providing
outreach initiatives and support services
The Catholic Diocese of
Parramatta’s Office for
Safeguarding and Professional
Standards (the Office) was
established on 1 July 2014 to
ensure that there are robust
systems in place to keep children
and other vulnerable people safe
when they are involved in the
activities of the Diocese.
The Office is committed to the
position taken of ‘no excuses,
no cover ups’ and strives to
work towards the prevention
of abuse through the provision
of education, investigation,
research, compliance, and
outreach initiatives.
Current outreach initiative
A communication strategy
has been developed to reach
out to unknown survivors
of abuse who have been
harmed as a consequence
of their engagement in
ministries of the Diocese.
This outreach campaign
is being promoted through
diocesan communication
channels to parishes,
Catholic schools, ministries,
Church agencies and the
wider community.
The campaign is one of
numerous initiatives that aim
to provide the community with
an opportunity to be heard if
they hold information about
historical and/or current abuse
suffered at the hands of Catholic
Church personnel in Western
Sydney and the Blue Mountains.
Advertisements are running
in local newspapers in Western
Sydney and the Blue Mountains
and on diocesan online and
social media channels (see panel
on the bottom of this page).
Information about the
campaign is available on a
dedicated website:
www.safeguarding.org.au
People coming forward with
complaints or information can
call a response line (02 9933
0233), which will be in operation
for the duration of the campaign
from 7am to midnight, seven
days a week.
This response line will be
managed by skilled professionals
who are engaged as a first point
of contact for people who wish to
come forward.
For all other inquiries about
this outreach initiative, people
are encouraged to phone the
Office for Safeguarding and
Professional Standards tel
(02) 8838 3400.
About the Office
The Office provides education
to all diocesan institutions
about risk management
strategies, current issues, and
legislative obligations.
This is predominately
undertaken through the
facilitation of training
sessions, forums, conferences,
and the production of
resource materials.
The education is informed
through ongoing extensive
research into current issues and
risk management strategies.
The compliance branch of
the Office serves as a resource
for diocesan institutions in
ensuring their understanding
and implementation of statutory
requirements and diocesan
policies.
The Office also undertakes
objective investigations
into complaints and
safeguarding issues.
The Office works under the
direction of Paul Davis. Paul has
been engaged with Professional
Standards initiatives of the
Diocese for more than a decade.
He has a background in law,
education, and investigations.
The Manager, Frances
Rush, joined the Office for
Safeguarding and Professional
Standards team in January this
year. Frances has worked for
the Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child
Sexual Abuse.
She has more than 30 years
of social work experience in
both the governmental and nongovernmental sectors.
A Training and Compliance
Officer, Asante Viswasam, joined
the team in June this year with a
background in human rights, risk
assessment, and child protection.
Most recently, Asante worked
for the Office of the Children’s
Guardian in the Operations
Team of the Working With
Children Check.
The Office is supported by
Executive Assistant, Corrina
Serrano, who comes to the
team with Royal Commission
and Attorney General’s
Department experience.
The Diocese has been involved
in the processes and inquiries
of the Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to
Child Sexual Abuse, which was
established in January 2013.
The purpose of this Royal
Commission is to investigate
how institutions like schools,
churches, sports clubs, and
government organisations have
responded to allegations and
instances of child sexual abuse.
Through its involvement
in the Royal Commission the
Diocese has strengthened its
commitment to provide outreach
initiatives and support services
to the community.
PUBLIC FORUM ON PAPAL ENCYCLICAL
Laudato Si’
‘Praise be to you’
Saturday 15 August,
10am to 4.30pm
A forum on
Laudato Si’, the new encyclical
from Pope Francis, will be held in the
Diocese of Parramatta on Saturday 15 August.
Everyone is welcome to participate in this forum, which is hosted
by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) and
Holy Family Parish, Mt Druitt.
• What is Pope Francis saying in his encyclical on human ecology
and the environment?
• What is the scientific explanation for global warming?
• What global effects have we seen already and what can
we expect?
• What does this mean for us?
• Apart from the humanitarian response, what actions can ordinary
people 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 Parish
Prof Neil Ormerod,
Professor of Theology at Australian Catholic University
Dr Hamish Clarke, Senior Climate & Atmospheric Scientist, NSW
Office of Environment and Heritage
Thea Ormerod, ARRCC President
Venue: Loyola Senior High Hall, 91 North Parade, Mt Druitt.
Light lunch and refreshments provided – $10 suggested donation
RSVP: Thea tel 0405 293 466,
[email protected]
Details:
http://www.arrcc.org.au/ news-a-events/event/details/298
Further information:
The text of the encyclical is available on the
Vatican website: http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html
A key source of information about the encyclical is the website of
Catholic Earthcare Australia: www.catholicearthcare.org.au