CANADA
CBC News
The Catholic Church of Montreal will expand its pilot project that bars priests and church volunteers from being alone with children and requires them to provide digital fingerprints to work with vulnerable populations.
Around 10 churches have been taking part in the pilot project, which was launched last fall. All churches will now have to follow these rules by 2020.
The rules apply to those occupying roles deemed as “high risk” in the diocese’s 194 churches and ministries — working with minors, the sick and the elderly — and also include mandatory police background checks.
“In terms of whether or not we were going to (implement the plan), that wasn’t even in question. We’re going. This has to happen,” said Bishop Thomas Dowd, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Montreal.
“The Catholic Church has to be the safest place for the vulnerable.”
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