The Archdiocese of Perth will join in marking Safeguarding Sunday 2024 this weekend 8 September, at the conclusion of National Child Protection Week.
Safeguarding Sunday seeks to acknowledge the immense damage caused by the sexual abuse of children and adults at risk, including by priests, religious and lay people within Catholic contexts and makes a commitment to practices and protocols that create and maintain safe environments for all people.
Speaking Tuesday 3 September at the annual Child Protection Week morning tea, Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton said Child Protection Week is a time to gather today as a church community, to affirm our commitment to providing a safe environment for our children.
“An environment where children can flourish, where they feel safe, welcomed, and included,” Bishop Don said.
“This is a priority for our church and collectively we can make a positive difference to the safety of not just children but vulnerable adults as well,” he said.
Bishop Sproxton continued by saying Christ taught us through his conversations with others to ‘love one another as I have loved you”.
“So, I encourage you today to think about how through Christ’s love and our love for one another, you can continue to build a culture of safety in our church community,” he said.
“We would also like to acknowledge today, the immense hurt caused by abuse.
“We continue to pray for those who have been harmed. We pray for their healing and our ongoing commitment to courage, integrity and compassion in the work we do,” he concluded.
This year Safeguarding Sunday has adopted the theme of National Child Protection Week – “Every conversation matters”.
Embracing this theme, we are reminded that every conversation about safeguarding matters.
Children and adults at risk are more likely to raise concerns and issues in an organisation that empowers and listens to them, and creating space for children and adults to have a say in decisions that affect them is an integral part of every safe organisation.