Opening
Message
“Let the children
come to me; do not stop them;…..” Then he put his
arms around them, laid his hands on them and gave
them blessing.” (Mk 10:14, 16)
These words of Jesus reveal his tender and gentle
attitude to children and to all those who are vulnerable.
This attitude of Jesus is the foundation for all the
work of the Derry Diocesan Child Protection Committee.
The Committee values and encourages the active participation
of children and young people in the life of the Church.
It also endeavours to ensure that each child and young
persons’ fundamental right to be respected, nurtured,
cared for and protected is upheld in accordance with
the teaching of the Gospel and civil legislation.
This will be achieved through the development of ‘best
practice’ in the area of child protection, ensuring
the well-being of children and young people involved
in any Church related activity.
Mary McCafferty
Chairperson
Derry Diocesan Child Protection Committee
“The Diocese of Derry is committed to ‘best practice’
in the safeguarding of children, particularly when
involved in Church activities. To this end, I commend
the work of the diocesan committees and all those
working at diocesan and parish level to bring the
caring attitude of Christ to children. May the peace
and joy of Jesus Christ be with you”.
Most Rev. Seamus Hegarty
Bishop of Derry
Mission Statement
The Diocese of Derry values and encourages
the participation of children and young people in
parish liturgies and in activities that enhance their
spiritual, physical, emotional and social development.
We recognise and uphold the dignity and rights of
all these individuals within our ‘faith family’ and
we are committed to their protection and support in
a way that promotes their human dignity and integrity
as ‘children of God’.
In keeping with this ethos, we undertake
to do all in our power in the Diocese of Derry to
create safe environments for children and young people,
and to ensure their protection from physical, sexual
and emotional abuse.
We acknowledge that all involved in
working with children and young people have a special
duty of care towards them, and we undertake to put
in place policies and procedures through which this
care is put into effect so that their rights as active
participants in the life of the Church are upheld.
Child Protection Services
The policies and procedures outlined
in Safeguarding Children, the standards and guidance
document issued by the National Board for Safeguarding
Children in the Catholic Church, indicate the importance
of a collaborative approach to the whole area of child
protection. In support of this a number of structures
and personnel have been put in place in the diocese.
Derry Diocesan Child
Protection Committee
The Derry Diocesan Child Protection
Committee is appointed by the Diocesan Bishop. The
Committee works independently, developing, directing
and managing all aspects of policy development, training
and support for parishes with the diocesan Church.
Committee members are drawn from the four deanery
areas of the diocese and they bring to this role experience
from education, law, psychology, counselling, parish
ministry and social work.
Areas of Responsibility
• Developing and implementing diocesan
guidelines to promote child protection and welfare
within parish ministry and pastoral activities in
keeping with statutory and Church guidelines.
• Ensuring that the planning and delivery of a training
strategy for all Church personnel is carried out.
• Assisting parishes in the application of the guidelines
• Liaising with the National Board for Safeguarding
Children in the Catholic Church and with statutory
authorities
• Ensuring that referral mechanisms following complaints
of abuse are made known within the diocese through
training and awareness sessions.
• Ensuring that pastoral care supports for victims
of abuse and others affected by abuse are made known
within the diocese through training and awareness
sessions
• Liaising appropriately with the Advisory Case Management
Committee
• Reviewing the work of the Derry Diocese Child Protection
Committee, Co-ordinator and Trainers
• Overseeing an annual audit of child protection in
parishes throughout the Derry diocese
• Regularly reviewing the work carried out by, and
on behalf of the Committee and producing an annual
report of this activity
• Liaising with the Diocesan Bishop to ensure recommendations
of the review report are implemented.
A new diocesan policy is being drawn
up to meet the requirements of the recent Safeguarding
Children document. This uniform policy will be the
bench mark for all parishes in the diocese.
Child Protection Office/Co-ordinators
and Trainers
There is a Child Protection Office in
the Pastoral Centre in Derry city. There are two diocesan
Child Protection Trainers. They have completed the
‘Keeping Safe Programme’, devised and monitored by
the Volunteer Development Agency in Belfast. They
work on behalf of the Committee, facilitating the
training of all Church personnel in child protection
policies and procedures. They assist parishes and
other Church organisations within the diocese to apply
the guidelines through information sessions and ongoing
support. The Co-ordinator of Child Protection assists
the Committee in the overall development and implementation
of diocesan and national guidelines.
Parish Representatives
Each parish has one or more Parish Representatives,
who help develop awareness of ‘best practice’ issues
in working with children and young people in Church
settings. The representatives work in their parishes
to help disseminate information on national guidelines,
diocesan policies and procedures. The representatives
also ensure that contact information for child protection
personnel is made known within the parish. An audit
is carried out annually of the child protection policies
and procedures in each parish and how they are being
developed and implemented. This is part of an ongoing
commitment to reviewing and improving ‘best practice’.
As part of our commitment to ensuring
the well-being and protection of children and young
people, all personnel involved in ministry with children
and young people in the diocese of Derry are subject
to vetting procedures.
(Northern Ireland: AccessNI and R.O.I: Garda vetting
as available)
Reporting Procedures
There are four main types of child abuse
as outlined in Children First and Co-operating to
Safeguard Children:
• Neglect
• Emotional abuse
• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
Reporting to Statutory Authorities
If you or anyone you know has a child
protection concern or wishes to report an allegation
of child abuse directly to the statutory authorities,
please contact the PSNI/Gardai or the local Health
and/or Social Services and ask to speak to the Duty
Social Worker. Contact numbers are displayed at the
back of all Parish Churches.
Reporting to Church Authorities
If you or anyone you know has a child
protection concern or wishes to report an allegation
of child abuse directly to the Church authorities
in relation to any member of Church personnel, please
contact one of the following diocesan designated persons.
Rev. John Farren
Tel : NI (0035374) 9384037
Tel : ROI (074) 9384037
Mrs. Mary McCafferty
Tel : NI (028) 7136 2475
Tel : ROI (048) 7136 2475
These guidelines have been drawn up to meet the standards
of Safeguarding Children, the standards and guidance
document issued by the National Board for Safeguarding
Children in the Catholic Church.
