Montreal Catholic Priests Who Work with Kids Will Be Fingerprinted under New Rules

CTV
June 21, 2017

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/montreal-catholic-priests-who-work-with-kids-will-be-fingerprinted-under-new-rules-1.3468739

New rules on how Catholic priests, staff and volunteers interact with some the most vulnerable people in the archdiocese -- such as children -- are being rolled out in Montreal.

Under the new rules, no adult working with the church can be alone with a child. Church members who work closely with minors, the sick or the elderly will be required to be fingerprinted and undergo police background checks.

The updated code of ethics comes after a one-year pilot project involving 10 parishes. The new rules take effect by 2020 and will include all 194 Montreal parishes within the archdiocese, which includes Laval, Repentigny, and L'Assomption.

The Catholic Church has a dark history of physical and sexual abuse dating back decades. Father Betrand Montpetit, a Montreal priest of 28 years, says the new rules are an important step forward.

“We want to have more credibility also, and the confidence, you must earn it,” Montpetit told CTV Montreal.

“Even if it would protect only one, I think it’s worth taking all the time, the energy, the money to do this.”

Montpetit’s parish was one of 10 involved in the pilot project. He says the rules are similar to standard practice in the churches, but it was important to make the regulations official.

Confession, a Catholic sacrament that requires speaking to a priest about one’s sins, will be administered to children in the presence of other people, but privacy will be maintained, Montpetit explained.

“They would sit here in the pew, and people would be a bit further, they could see us but they could not hear what is said, so it would be confidential,” he said.

But Carlo Tarini, who has represented victims of sexual abuse by priests, says the new rules aren’t enough.

“I’m not convinced that it’s going to help throughout Quebec in keeping children away from dangerous pedophile priests. We recognize that it’s a step forward, but then again, it’s only in the Montreal area,” he said.

The church says it wrote the code of ethics based off similar regulations from organizations such as scouting and sport groups.

“Hopefully it will do some good. It can’t do any harm,” said Wendy Aitken, an employee at St. Luke's Parish in Dollard-des-Ormeaux for the past 10 years.

The new rules also include a rigorous screening process for both salaried employees and volunteers.