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Diocese trains 22 new facilitators for safe environment program
| Positive
response to facilitator training
By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
Twenty-two people who are involved in various ministries
of the Diocese of Sioux City participated in the VIRTUS Facilitator
Training held Sept. 8 and 9.
One person who opted to give of his time to serve as a
new facilitator for the Protecting God's Children safe environment program
by VIRTUS is Deacon Bob Larsen. He is the pastoral director for Bishop
Garrigan Schools and serves as a deacon at St. Cecelia Church in Algona.
He decided to volunteer to serve as a facilitator
because he believes the "process of VIRTUS is very good and if we are
going to make sure that it is carried out to its fullest then we who are
out in the diocese need to volunteer to do this."
Deacon Larsen acknowledged that he was asked by his
principal to go through the training and he agreed. Serving as a
facilitator, he noted, can be incorporated into his ministry as an
educator as well as in his service as a deacon.
"I thought the training was very informative and
was well presented," he said. "I learned a lot and came away
believing that I knew more about the VIRTUS program. Every once in a while
we attend workshops and we are not sure that it was worth your time away
from school and church, but I definitely believe this one was."
Deacon Larsen said he hoped that everyone approached the
VIRTUS training sessions with a very positive attitude along with the
knowledge that this process has been put in place to protect the children.
Father Steven McLoud, pastor at St. Columbkille in
Churdan and St. Paul in Scranton, said, "It was an intense few days
but then again so was the subject matter."
He very much appreciates the fact that he was able to
work in Catholic schools in the first few years of his ministry as a
priest. With that in mind, he views children as one of God's greatest
gifts.
"I realize that they depend upon us for so many
things. They look to their parents and teachers, to priests and religious,
for guidance and wisdom. The kids are curious to learn about Jesus and
Mary and they really need to feel that they are loved and that they are
safe," stressed Father McLoud.
Through the facilitator training, he said he realized
that the Protecting God's Children Program was a process and not a
one-shot training period. The process is designed to give the teachers,
parents and others important information they need to know about child
sexual abuse.
"The program gives us the tools we need to help
parents, teachers, catechists and other interested parishioners the
warning signs of a child that might possibly be sexually abused. It also
gives us an opportunity as facilitators to help them be alert to a
potential abuser and then teach them how we can work together as a parish
or community to help prevent child sexual abuse. The fact is that it can
happen anywhere to anyone," said Father McLoud.
He wanted to make this a part of his ministry because he
believes that the safe of children is so important.
"I think it is important for parents to realize
that when they entrust their kids into our care for any length of time,
they are in a safe place," he said.
Nancy Michels, pastoral minister at the parishes in Rock
Valley, Alvord and Sioux Center as well as DRE at St. Patrick in Sheldon,
pointed out that she participated in the training because she was aware
that the Northwest Deanery needed representation in regards to available
facilitators. She also feels strongly about this effort by the church to
keep children safe.
"I have been through several other trainings as I
have worked with church and civic organizations and I find this one to be
the strongest in terms of both educating the teacher or youth minister to
be wary of adults who might prey on young children," she said.
"It also comes at it from a prevention standpoint where as other
programs ask you to identify abuse after the fact."
She is confident that the training prepared her well to
facilitate training sessions.
The fact that this diocese has trained over 6,000
people, Michels noted, sends the message that this program is "meant
to touch the grassroots and meant to change the environment and improve
the safety for all of our young children." |
By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
September 16, 2004
Two master facilitators of the Protecting God's Children safe environment
program by  VIRTUS trained 22 new facilitators for the Diocese of Sioux City at a
two-day session held Sept. 8 and 9 at Immaculate Conception Church in Sioux
City.
The master facilitators were Margaret Fuentes and Kevin Vickery,
co-coordinators of the safe environment program in the Diocese of Sioux City.
"We are the first diocese to be named as master trainers and be training
our own facilitators," noted Fuentes, who added that this cutting edge
concept is a nice symmetry with the fact that the entire concept of Protecting
God's Children was the brainchild of Msgr. Kevin McCoy, former chancellor of the
diocese.
In addition to the 22 newly trained facilitators, eight others were trained
as facilitators last year. This brings the pool of people who are trained to
present the VIRTUS sessions in parishes and schools throughout the diocese up to
30.
"With 30 facilitators, we will certainly be able to be more effective in
being able to provide the awareness training programs in the parishes and
schools," noted Vickery.
The broad range of people who participated in the training pleased them. The
mix included parish religious education leaders, two priests, a deacon, women
religious, Catholic school administrators and others.
Fuentes called it a very good cross section of talented and dedicated people.
"One of the goals is to have facilitators more evenly spread throughout
the diocese so that we have people who are able to do sessions closer to
home," said Vickery, who added that they were able to accomplish that goal.
While the coverage is better than in the past, both master facilitators
mentioned that they would train additional facilitators in the next 12 months.
The long-range goal is to have a facilitator in each school and one in each
parish cluster. This way, more VIRTUS sessions can be offered on the local
level.
"In the first year we focused on employees and volunteers who work with
children. In this second year, I would like to see every parent who sends their
child to a Catholic school, a parish religious education program or youth
ministry program attend a VIRTUS awareness session so they have the same
knowledge as those they have entrusted their children to," said Vickery.
He pointed out that the more people - parents as well as other interested
adults - who understand the issues of child sexual abuse and learn the warning
signs, the better. The knowledge parents can gain through the VIRTUS sessions
can be applied to other activities in which their children participate such as
sports programs and public school settings.
"We have areas of greater concentration of the Catholic population -
where there are some of our stronger Catholic school systems - where we could
easily have two or three facilitators in that location," said Fuentes.
Both master facilitators stressed the fact that the safe environment program
is not a project that the diocese is currently working on, but rather is an
ongoing process.
Along with heading up the safe environment program, Fuentes and Vickery had
served as facilitators this past year. As master facilitators, they noted that
their role would now shift, focusing more on serving as resource persons for the
other facilitators rather than leading local VIRTUS sessions.
"I am anxious to step back from the role of doer of the training, to
helping to manage the team and provide stronger administrative support and have
the opportunity to do more long-range planning," said Fuentes.
Employees or volunteers who work on a regular basis with children that were
slated to be trained last year have until Oct. 31 to attend a VIRTUS session.
New employees or volunteers have 90 days to attend.
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