Policies

Background on Child Safety Policies

On December 29, 2003, Bishop John B. McCormack released the policy entitled Promise to Protect, Pledge to Heal: The Protection of Children and Young People (Policy) and a code of conduct entitled Serving Christ, Serving Others: A Code of Ministerial Conduct (Code). Both documents became effective on March 19, 2004, the Feast of St. Joseph, the patron saint of the Diocese of Manchester. As specified in our Policy, the Code and Policy are reviewed and revised every four years through a process that includes broad consultation. The updated Code and Policy became effective March 19, 2007. In 2011 the time has come once again for consultation and review. The current revisions to the Code and Policy are effective May 1, 2011.

The Code

The Code focuses on general ethical principles that ensure integrity in ministry and the process for handling violations of these principles. *Note all documents are pdf.

Spanish

Code and Policy 05.11

Vietnamese

Portugese

Executive Summary of Code 05.11

Executive Summary of Policy 05.07

Acknowledgment Page 05.07

The Policy

Highlights:

the establishment of a lay diocesan Safe Environment Council
background screening protocols, including criminal records and sex offender registry checks for all church personnel who regularly work with minors
training on child sexual abuse awareness, prevention, and reporting