April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

The Catholic Project at Catholic University is dedicated, in part, to the prevention of abuse in the Church.

The month of April is recognized as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Throughout this month, our social media channels will be highlighting what the Catholic Church is doing to prevent child abuse, as well as sharing information from other collaborators and partners on the issue.

On April 8th, we will mark the
World Day for Prevention and Healing from Child Sexual Abuse.

We are co-sponsoring a global symposium, led by the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, entitled:
Faith and Flourishing: Strategies for Preventing and Healing Child Sexual Abuse.

The strongest motivation we can have for preventing child abuse comes from hearing the stories of victim-survivors. We continue to promote the Spirit Fire Global Broadcast series: Abuse, Faith, and Pastoral Care.

In addition, we are hosting a virtual event on April 15 to hear from three victim assistance coordinators, who can share what they have learned from working one-on-one and in groups with survivors of clergy abuse.

And our podcast, Crisis: Clergy Abuse in the Catholic Church addressed how the Church in the US has been working actively to prevent child sexual abuse since 2002: What is the Church Doing to Keep Kids Safe?

In that episode, we spend a lot of time talking about the USCCB’s 2002 Dallas Charter. It has been revised three times; the original is available here and the current version, along with an explanation, is available here.

Please join us in marking Child Abuse Prevention Month by sharing our resources!