Mags GarganA call to establish safeguarding children committees in every parish in the Diocese of Cloyne was endorsed by Bishop William Crean at the second biennial Safeguarding Children Conference last month.
The conference heard that the work associated with fully implementing the comprehensive safeguarding children policies and procedures in the diocese has impacted significantly on the already heavy workload of parish priests.
“Parish priests need help now, and a parish safeguarding committee, established according to a standardised template and comprised of committed and skilled lay people will provide that help,” said Con Lynch, Chairman of Cloyne Diocesan Safeguarding Children Committee (CDSCC).
The over 100 attendees also heard from Teresa Devlin, interim CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church; Rosarie O’Riordan, Diocesan Training Coordinator; Fr Donal Roberts, Macroom parish; CDSCC members Denis Ring, Una Relihan and Tom Murray, and Fr Eugene Baker.
Bishop William Crean thanked the Safeguarding Children Committee for organising the conference and urged all parishes to establish safeguarding committees.