Protecting children takes a church/family ‘village’

Child Abuse Prevention Month is celebrated each April. How important is that to our local church?

It’s very important. The arrival of spring gives us an opportunity to appreciate new life, so it’s not accidental that we celebrate Child Abuse Prevention during this time because we are called to respect the life of all people, and particularly, all children. Our children are vulnerable and in many cases don’t have the ability to speak up for themselves. The program we’ve established in the Archdiocese of New Orleans is based on guidelines from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Child and Youth Protection. It’s called “Creating a Culture of Safety.” That means, over and above the legal requirements for the mandated reporting of abuse, we emphasize with adults who serve in churches, schools and Catholic organizations that our responsibility is to speak up for children and young people. We are also working continuously to update our policies and resources dealing with the use of technology and spotting signs of abuse. We have committed ourselves to doing background checks on anyone who is in regular contact with children. This is what “safe environment” is all about – doing everything we can to protect children who can’t speak for themselves. I sing the praises of Sister Mary Ellen Wheelahan, the Sister of Mount Carmel who is our director of safe environment and is responsible for implementing the Charter for the Protection of Youth and Young People by making sure we have training for all those in ministry who work with children to prevent sexual abuse. Sister Mary Ellen also takes a much broader approach to her ministry by doing everything she can to make sure that we preserve the dignity and the value of our children. Her safe environment programs are even being used in our Christopher Homes residence for seniors.

Has the church advanced in the way it protects children?

Absolutely. We know the devastation that has been caused by the sexual abuse of children through the transgressions of church leaders and others. But child protection also includes other forms of physical abuse, verbal abuse and even what I would call attitudinal abuse. Our attitudes toward people can be abusive. If we call ourselves pro-life as Catholics, that means we believe we are created in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, we are called to respect the life of every person, even our worst enemy. Children are naive and vulnerable and can easily be taken advantage of by adults and even by their peers. Bullying is one of the major ways in which a child can be abused. This can happen by children their own age, by parents or by adults in general.

What can people do when they may suspect child abuse?

We know that we have a legal mandate to report it to law enforcement. Morally, we also have a mandate to help the person responsible for the abuse change his or her ways. One of the greatest daily abuses is accomplished through words, through unfiltered thoughts. Unfiltered thoughts shatter hearts. We are also aware how children, sometimes within the school community, can be very mean and hate-filled to one another. That is direct abuse. But abuse also can occur through the neglect of a child’s life or their emotional needs. During April, we are called to give our attention to children and the way in which we speak to them and deal with them – physically, sexually and emotionally. This message may seem to be simple common sense, but if it were simply common sense, we wouldn’t have so many wounded people and wounded children. These wounds can take months or a lifetime to heal. We are called to bring victims to prayer, to take action to help them heal and to help the person responsible for perpetrating the abuse.

You’ve been very clear in the past about why corporal discipline should not be allowed.

I believe that corporal discipline in general is not of God. There are other ways and more constructive ways of disciplining a child. Discipline is necessary because it reminds someone that he or she has done something wrong and needs to feel a healthy guilt. But correction should be rehabilitative and constructive. Corporal discipline does not accomplish this. There have been many studies that indicate that hitting a child is destructive and leaves marks that are not just physical but emotional.

Has the exponential growth of social media created a fertile atmosphere for potential abuse?

Yes. One of the things I like to stress with parents is to check on their children’s electronic devices to know what they are listening to, what video games they are playing and what sites they are on. St. Agnes Le Thi Thanh Parish in Marrero did a safe environment training program regarding social media awareness recently, and one of the big things to come out of the survey of children was that they wanted to spend more time with their parents! Imagine that: Children are asking for more time with their mom and dad. Parents have a responsibility to be involved with their kids’ lives, especially in their use of social media. Parents can use the settings panel to set controls on their child’s electronic devices or pay a nominal fee to add security software to those devices. Parents should be aware of what apps are most used today by children and youth. Creating a culture of safety is everyone’s responsibility – not just one person in a church or a school.

Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected].