Geraldton Diocese has responded to the transient nature of its parish communities and its remote outposts by ensuring that safeguarding information and policies are widely shared and that every parish has a safeguarding officer available to support the local community. Source: ACSL.
Ursula Stephens, Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited’s chief executive officer, said a recent safeguarding audit of Geraldton Diocese demonstrated that it has strong child safeguarding policies and procedures in place.
“I commend the efforts of the diocesan safeguarding personnel to ensure that policies are being met in practice and commend the integration of safeguarding across the diocese,”
Geraldton is the largest diocese by land area in Australia and, with 24 parish centres, there is a heavy reliance on volunteers in some small and remote communities.
Dr Stephens said that understanding diverse cultural issues was a key strength of the diocese’s safeguarding approach.
“The recommendations for improvement reflect an acknowledgement of the diverse cultural communities within the diocese, and an ongoing commitment to understand and implement responsibilities of safeguarding adults at risk,” Dr Stephens said.
ACSL made 10 recommendations to improve safeguarding practices within the diocese. These recommendations were accepted, and work is already underway to implement them.
Geraldton Bishop Michael Morrissey said he was “encouraged by the conclusions” of the diocese’s first audit report and he extended “heartfelt appreciation to all who committed to building a strong safeguarding culture over many years”.
“Safeguarding is intrinsic to our faith and Catholic Social Teaching, and we will refine and strengthen our processes so that safeguarding children, youth, and adults at-risk is paramount and at the core of everything we do in the Diocese of Geraldton,” Bishop Morrissey said.
The full audit report is publicly available on the ACSL website at www.acsltd.org.au.
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Diocese of Geraldton rises to the safeguarding challenges of their FIFO communities (ACSL)
