Department upholds church’s promise to protect children

[Habesha]

Editor’s note: Recent reports of clergy sexual abuse in Europe have again put the spotlight on the Catholic Church, leaving some to wonder what the church is doing to prevent future abuse. This week The Compass is beginning a four-part series on the Green Bay Diocese’s Safe Environment Program. Part one is an interview with the directors of the Safe Environment Department.

GREEN BAY — When Ann Fox and Karen Bass hear about clergy sexual abuse cases from years past being reported today in Europe, they have mixed emotions.

Fox and Bass, who direct the Diocese of Green Bay’s Safe Environment Program, feel compassion for those who were abused. But they are also comforted in knowing that in northeastern Wisconsin, a comprehensive training program and screening process protects children and vulnerable adults from abuse.

The program also reaches out to survivors of sexual abuse.

The diocese’s Safe Environment Department was established two years after the U.S. bishops approved the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002. The charter was created in response to incidents of clergy sexual abuse that occurred in the United States.

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