ARIZONA
Catholic Sun
Promise to protect. Pledge to heal.
The first statement serves as the foundation for the Church’s efforts in educating the community in its mission to prevent child abuse. The second underscores the work being done to reach out to survivors of abuse and to alleviate their pain.
The Diocese of Phoenix’s Safe Environment Training Office and the Office of Child and Youth Protection work tirelessly to meet these commitments.
“I believe it’s everybody’s responsibility to be the eyes and ears of the community and be a part of our ‘Catholic block watch’,” said Melanie Takinen, director of Safe Environment Training for the Phoenix Diocese.
Prevention efforts locally involved training over 30,000 minors during the last academic year. Nearly 19,500 volunteers and another 3,061 priests, deacons, teachers and other employees also completed training.
Over the past decade, the Office of Child and Youth Protection has assisted more than 200 individuals and families who have been directly affected by sexual abuse, whether the abuse took place in the Diocese of Phoenix or not, according to a report published in 2012 to mark the 10th anniversary of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” a landmark document established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by those in the Church.
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