08 SEPTEMBER 2022
www.therecord.com.au
Edition #399
SAFEGUARDING DESIGNED TO ENSURE FAILURES OF THE PAST ARE NEVER REPEATED AGAIN, SAYS ARCHBISHOP COSTELLOE
Archbishop Costelloe and Cathedral Dean Rev Dr Sean Fernandez prepare to launch a kite as part of National Child Protection Week, Tuesday 6 September. PHOTO: RON TAN.
By Jamie O'Brien
Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has this week spoken in support of National Child Protection Week at a morning tea ahead of Safeguarding Sunday, this weekend, Sunday 11 September. The Safeguarding Project, said Archbishop Costelloe, is one of the most important things that the church in in this Archdiocese, and more broadly across Western Australia is involved in. “It is, of course, a response to the terrible failures of the past. But it is a response that's designed to ensure that they are never repeated again,” he said. This year, parishes across the diocese are being encouraged to celebrate Mass in acknowledgement of Safeguarding Sunday, rather
than just one main celebration at St Mary’s Cathedral. Continuing his speech to representatives from the Archdiocese at the morning tea, Archbishop Costelloe said he believes they - the people on the ground in the concrete realities of our local communities - are the ones who are there to help ensure that no child, no young person, and no vulnerable adult is ever hurt again, in any of our communities. “You fulfill the ministry of the Lord who brought hope and healing to the broken, and it was the good shepherd, making sure that his flock was kept safe from harm,” Archbishop Costelloe said. “So I'd like to invite you to think of yourselves as fulfilling in the ministry that you have, the call that we all have in our own particular vocations, to be good shepherds to each other. It's a shepherding role
that you have. And it's very much a preventive role,” he said. This year, the A rchdioces an Safeguarding Office marked the occasion by holding a kite competition, inviting Perth parishioners to be artistic. The theme for the occasion this year was ‘Every child in every community needs a fair go.’ Acting Director of the Safeguarding Project Office, Barbara Blayney said the Safeguarding Program works with the Church community to raise awareness and to provide guidance, protocols and practices for a safe and nurturing Church. “Our logo, the kite, was this year was impetus for Child Protection Week activity. And the kite symbolises their connection to self and community while being guided by God, which is our kite tail and the kite guiding string,” Mrs Blayney said. Zero tolerance for priests guilty of abuse, Pope Francis says in interview Calling sexual abuse "diabolical" and a "monstrosity," Pope Francis underlined there is "zero tolerance" for those in the church who are guilty of abuse. "One very key thing is zero tolerance. Zero. A priest cannot continue being a priest if he is an abuser. He cannot act (as a priest) because he is sick or a criminal," Pope Francis said in an interview with CNN Portugal. "If he is a priest, he is there to lead people to God and not to destroy people in the name of God. Zero tolerance and we must not stop at that," he said. Full Text available at
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