New national Church response to importance of safeguarding

Catholic Outlook
November 22, 2016

http://catholicoutlook.org/new-national-church-response-to-importance-of-safeguarding/

A new independent company to be established by the Catholic Church in Australia to develop, audit and report on compliance with professional standards to protect children and vulnerable people was announced today by Church leaders

Catholic Professional Standards (CPS) Limited represents a new national Church response to the importance of safeguarding vulnerable people. It will be responsible for setting the highest standards to ensure the safety of individuals involved with the Church at all levels and engaging with Catholic service providers.

CPS will:

* Develop new standards for the protection of children and vulnerable adults across Church entities, particularly in areas where there are no current relevant standards; * Audit and report on the compliance of each Church authority against the new professional standards; and * Provide education and training regarding the new standards.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Catholic Religious Australia, which represent more than 200 independent Catholic entities across Australia, made the joint announcement of the new company during the bishops’ plenary meeting with religious leaders at Mary MacKillop Place in Sydney on 22 November 2016.

Member representative of CPS and the President of Catholic Religious Australia, Sr Ruth Durick OSU, said the new entity sets a new standard for the Catholic Church in Australia.