St. Mungo's Safeguarding Officers - Sheena Gault and Siobhan Kelly
Parish Dedicated Safeguarding Tel. 07511538573
Parish Safeguarding E-mail: [email protected]
Safeguarding Statement to Parish February 26th/27th 2022
St. Mungo’s Parish: Townhead and Sighthill
The Bishops’ Conference has stated that ‘the Catholic Church in Scotland is concerned with the lives, safety, wholeness and wellbeing of each individual person within God’s purpose for everyone. It seeks to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are involved in whatever capacity with the Church and its organisations. As a Church community, we accept that it is the responsibility of all of us, ordained, professed, paid and voluntary members, to work together to prevent the physical, sexual, emotional abuse, or neglect of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Pope Francis has asked that our families are made aware that they have every right to expect that they are safe and secure in ‘Our Father’s House’.
As part of our commitment to Safeguarding, it is vitally important that we remember those who have been harmed or abused either by a member of the Church, members of their family, or any other person. It is asked of us that we pray and care about them. In 2019, the Bishops of Scotland established an annual Day of Prayer for those who have suffered abuse, and individuals and communities who are affected by abuse. This Day of Prayer is to be marked each year on the Friday following Ash Wednesday. This year the Day of Prayer falls on the 4th of March. This day allows the Church to renew its apology to anyone who has suffered and to stress its commitment to the essential work of safeguarding across our parish communities.
Here in St. Mungo’s, we will mark that day with special prayers at the daily Masses; a Stations of the Cross in solidarity with victims of abuse worldwide after the 10am Mass; and a prayer service at the Lady Altar after the 12.15pm Mass. We encourage people to attend one or all of those services, if possible.
The Archdiocese of Glasgow is fully committed to Safeguarding as an integral part of life in the Church. Both the Archdiocese and our parish of St. Mungo’s, embrace the special responsibility we have for all children, young people and vulnerable adults who are part of our faith community. In St. Mungo’s this mainly applies to the Children’s Liturgy, the God Squad preparation for Sacraments; the care of altar servers, and the St. Vincent de Paul.
In March 2018 the Bishops of Scotland published In God’s Image, a comprehensive instruction on Safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Scotland, initially for an experimental period of three years, The revised version, In God’s Image 2, was implemented on 8th September 2021. There is a link to this on our parish website. In the church porch there are also posters, in line with IGI2, which highlights our Safeguarding policy, and has contact details for the Archdiocese, the parish, and a dedicated phone number for the parish safeguarding co-ordinator. These are also posted in other appropriate locations in St. Mungo’s. Other information, as well as a dedicated safeguarding email address, is printed every week in the Parish Newsletter.
Any safeguarding leaflets, or other material, from the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service are always made available, and the Safeguarding newsletter, Safeguarding Matters, is always posted on the designated safeguarding section of our parish website. We encourage people to take these leaflets, to read these materials, and to embrace safeguarding as the responsibility of all of us.
Each year we commit ourselves anew to our safeguarding principles and to renewing and improving our practice in any way we can. We adhere to the protocols and procedures laid out by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, including the safe recruitment and proper training of our volunteers. Each year we also complete and submit a Parish Safeguarding Audit The audit for 2021`was completed and submitted, on time, at the end of January 2022.
These protocols and procedures, and the vigilance of all of us involved in the life of the parish, help to ensure that everyone feels safe when they come to Mass, or to any other services or events here in St. Mungo’s.
We are grateful to all those volunteers in our parish who work with our children and young people, or with vulnerable adults, to enable them to grow in faith, and as human beings created and loved by God. Our parish safeguarding co-ordinator maintains contact with these groups.
May we each embrace this shared responsibility in delivering a duty of care to all of our parish family.
Finally, we wish to welcome Archbishop Nolan as the new Archbishop of Glasgow. Archbishop Nolan has already demonstrated his commitment to safeguarding in the Galloway Diocese and together, all of us involved in Safeguarding within the Archdiocese, are grateful for all the hard work done by our Priests, Parish Safeguarding Co-ordinators and our Parish volunteers.
Thank you
Fr Frank CP
Parish Priest
St. Mungo’s Parish: Townhead and Sighthill
The Bishops’ Conference has stated that ‘the Catholic Church in Scotland is concerned with the lives, safety, wholeness and wellbeing of each individual person within God’s purpose for everyone. It seeks to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are involved in whatever capacity with the Church and its organisations. As a Church community, we accept that it is the responsibility of all of us, ordained, professed, paid and voluntary members, to work together to prevent the physical, sexual, emotional abuse, or neglect of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Pope Francis has asked that our families are made aware that they have every right to expect that they are safe and secure in ‘Our Father’s House’.
As part of our commitment to Safeguarding, it is vitally important that we remember those who have been harmed or abused either by a member of the Church, members of their family, or any other person. It is asked of us that we pray and care about them. In 2019, the Bishops of Scotland established an annual Day of Prayer for those who have suffered abuse, and individuals and communities who are affected by abuse. This Day of Prayer is to be marked each year on the Friday following Ash Wednesday. This year the Day of Prayer falls on the 4th of March. This day allows the Church to renew its apology to anyone who has suffered and to stress its commitment to the essential work of safeguarding across our parish communities.
Here in St. Mungo’s, we will mark that day with special prayers at the daily Masses; a Stations of the Cross in solidarity with victims of abuse worldwide after the 10am Mass; and a prayer service at the Lady Altar after the 12.15pm Mass. We encourage people to attend one or all of those services, if possible.
The Archdiocese of Glasgow is fully committed to Safeguarding as an integral part of life in the Church. Both the Archdiocese and our parish of St. Mungo’s, embrace the special responsibility we have for all children, young people and vulnerable adults who are part of our faith community. In St. Mungo’s this mainly applies to the Children’s Liturgy, the God Squad preparation for Sacraments; the care of altar servers, and the St. Vincent de Paul.
In March 2018 the Bishops of Scotland published In God’s Image, a comprehensive instruction on Safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Scotland, initially for an experimental period of three years, The revised version, In God’s Image 2, was implemented on 8th September 2021. There is a link to this on our parish website. In the church porch there are also posters, in line with IGI2, which highlights our Safeguarding policy, and has contact details for the Archdiocese, the parish, and a dedicated phone number for the parish safeguarding co-ordinator. These are also posted in other appropriate locations in St. Mungo’s. Other information, as well as a dedicated safeguarding email address, is printed every week in the Parish Newsletter.
Any safeguarding leaflets, or other material, from the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service are always made available, and the Safeguarding newsletter, Safeguarding Matters, is always posted on the designated safeguarding section of our parish website. We encourage people to take these leaflets, to read these materials, and to embrace safeguarding as the responsibility of all of us.
Each year we commit ourselves anew to our safeguarding principles and to renewing and improving our practice in any way we can. We adhere to the protocols and procedures laid out by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, including the safe recruitment and proper training of our volunteers. Each year we also complete and submit a Parish Safeguarding Audit The audit for 2021`was completed and submitted, on time, at the end of January 2022.
These protocols and procedures, and the vigilance of all of us involved in the life of the parish, help to ensure that everyone feels safe when they come to Mass, or to any other services or events here in St. Mungo’s.
We are grateful to all those volunteers in our parish who work with our children and young people, or with vulnerable adults, to enable them to grow in faith, and as human beings created and loved by God. Our parish safeguarding co-ordinator maintains contact with these groups.
May we each embrace this shared responsibility in delivering a duty of care to all of our parish family.
Finally, we wish to welcome Archbishop Nolan as the new Archbishop of Glasgow. Archbishop Nolan has already demonstrated his commitment to safeguarding in the Galloway Diocese and together, all of us involved in Safeguarding within the Archdiocese, are grateful for all the hard work done by our Priests, Parish Safeguarding Co-ordinators and our Parish volunteers.
Thank you
Fr Frank CP
Parish Priest
Our Safeguarding Co-Ordinators in Saint Mungo's are Sheena Gault and Siobhan Kelly
Safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Scotland
The Bishops' Conference of Scotland wish to ensure that there is transparency in the arrangements for Safeguarding in Catholic parishes and organisations throughout Scotland. In 2011 the Bishops established the McLellan Commission to review Safeguarding practice in the Catholic Church in Scotland. Its report was published in 2015, at which time we published our own plan for implementing its recommendations. This plan has led to the publication of IN GOD'S IMAGE which is an 'Instruction' from the Bishops of Scotland directing the approach to Safeguarding which must be followed in every Catholic Diocese in Scotland, with effect from 21st May 2018.
NOVEMBER 2021
The Catholic Church in Glasgow is issuing an extraordinary appeal during the month of November to anyone who may have been affected by any kind of abuse at the hands of clergy or church officials … ‘tell us where we went wrong and how we can do better’.
During the designated month, The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCEI) is conducting an external, independent review of the Archdiocese of Glasgow to hear from people with first-hand experience of how the Archdiocese has responded to reports of abuse.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese said: “This is a genuine attempt to listen and learn. The Social Care Institute is a totally independent body which will conduct this month long audit. The Archdiocese will have no role except to help to publicise that the audit is taking place, and that the external team want to hear directly from abuse survivors.
“The Social Care Institute wants to understand what is happening today and what has gone wrong in the past. They are looking at the responses of people in diocesan roles to knowledge of abuse by clergy or risks posed by clergy and others in Church-related roles, paid or voluntary.
“While the audit will concentrate on the last 5 years, we recommend that anyone who has experience of how we have dealt with abuse claims should speak to SCIE staff directly. Nobody at any level in the Church will be told that they are taking part. What they you tell SCIE will be confidential and will not be shared with the Archdiocese except as part of an overall report which will absolutely not identify any individual.”
Dr Sheila Fish, SCIE Head of Audit and Review, said: “We want to understand what is working well and where there are problems. We want to hear from people with first-hand experience of how people in diocesan roles have responded to disclosures of abuse or sharing of concerns.”
When the work has been completed the Archdiocese will publish the report and copies will be made available to survivors.
The Independent Review Group initiated independent audits of all dioceses to consider how leadership, culture and safeguarding practice has developed following the McClelland Report. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has been commissioned to undertake these independent audits. The overarching aim of each audit is to support safeguarding improvements in each diocese and across Scotland. The audit process will involve reviewing documentation as well as talking to key people. The views and experiences of different contributors are crucial to this process and the auditors are seeking information from survivors, parishes and partner organisations.
The views of parishes are crucial to the audit and a parish survey has been developed by SCEI to gather your views. The survey has six questions and should only take 5-10 minutes to complete. SCEI have asked that each of the following in the parish be asked for their views:
· Parish priest
· Parish safeguarding co-ordinator
· Youth leader
· Children’s liturgy co-ordinator
· Parish administrator
The survey is accessed via this link and the results go straight to SCEI.
There is only a limited timescale for the audit and SCEI need the survey to be completed Friday 28th of October.
The Catholic Church in Glasgow is issuing an extraordinary appeal during the month of November to anyone who may have been affected by any kind of abuse at the hands of clergy or church officials … ‘tell us where we went wrong and how we can do better’.
During the designated month, The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCEI) is conducting an external, independent review of the Archdiocese of Glasgow to hear from people with first-hand experience of how the Archdiocese has responded to reports of abuse.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese said: “This is a genuine attempt to listen and learn. The Social Care Institute is a totally independent body which will conduct this month long audit. The Archdiocese will have no role except to help to publicise that the audit is taking place, and that the external team want to hear directly from abuse survivors.
“The Social Care Institute wants to understand what is happening today and what has gone wrong in the past. They are looking at the responses of people in diocesan roles to knowledge of abuse by clergy or risks posed by clergy and others in Church-related roles, paid or voluntary.
“While the audit will concentrate on the last 5 years, we recommend that anyone who has experience of how we have dealt with abuse claims should speak to SCIE staff directly. Nobody at any level in the Church will be told that they are taking part. What they you tell SCIE will be confidential and will not be shared with the Archdiocese except as part of an overall report which will absolutely not identify any individual.”
Dr Sheila Fish, SCIE Head of Audit and Review, said: “We want to understand what is working well and where there are problems. We want to hear from people with first-hand experience of how people in diocesan roles have responded to disclosures of abuse or sharing of concerns.”
When the work has been completed the Archdiocese will publish the report and copies will be made available to survivors.
The Independent Review Group initiated independent audits of all dioceses to consider how leadership, culture and safeguarding practice has developed following the McClelland Report. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has been commissioned to undertake these independent audits. The overarching aim of each audit is to support safeguarding improvements in each diocese and across Scotland. The audit process will involve reviewing documentation as well as talking to key people. The views and experiences of different contributors are crucial to this process and the auditors are seeking information from survivors, parishes and partner organisations.
The views of parishes are crucial to the audit and a parish survey has been developed by SCEI to gather your views. The survey has six questions and should only take 5-10 minutes to complete. SCEI have asked that each of the following in the parish be asked for their views:
· Parish priest
· Parish safeguarding co-ordinator
· Youth leader
· Children’s liturgy co-ordinator
· Parish administrator
The survey is accessed via this link and the results go straight to SCEI.
There is only a limited timescale for the audit and SCEI need the survey to be completed Friday 28th of October.
Safeguarding Statement to Parish – 14th February 2021
Normally, this statement would be presented at all the weekend Masses by our parish safeguarding co-ordinator, Ann Jane Malloy. However, in these Covid times, that’s not possible, and so, for this year, I am presenting it as parish priest at this streamed mass. In St. Mungo’s, in normal times, we have a variety of activities that involve children and young people, primarily the children’s liturgy; the altar servers; and the God Squad meetings for Sacramental Preparation. These activities, including God Squad sessions for 1st Reconciliation and for Confirmations, took place in 2020 before the first lockdown came last March, but, obviously, there have been no activities since. It’s still very important, however, for myself, on behalf of the safeguarding co-ordinator, the parish team, the parish pastoral council; our catechists, our volunteers, and all concerned, to take the opportunity to bring our safeguarding policy, and our commitment to it, to the attention of the whole parish community, once again, through this statement, and through our website.
The Bishops Conference of Scotland seeks to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are involved in whatever capacity in the church and in its organisations, and that is the responsibility of all of us in the church community. In this respect I must pay tribute to the commitment to safeguarding of Archbishop Tartaglia, who tragically died just one month ago, his month’s mind Mass having been celebrated yesterday. Pope Francis has also firmly stated that he wants families to know that they have the right to expect that they are safe and secure in “Our Father’s House”.
It is part of our parish policy that our parish safeguarding co-ordinator meet regularly with children and young people, as well as volunteers in regulated activities, to ensure that they can put a face and name to who she is, and that they understand the role that she has in the parish, in the name of all of us, and to reinforce our commitment to their welfare and to safeguarding. This she did, once again, until lockdown suspended activities and it was no longer possible. Ann Jane’s capability in regard to safeguarding is valued by the Safeguarding Office and she has been trained as a level 2 trainer. It was the intention last March that St. Mungo’s would host a level 2 training session for all our own volunteers in regulated activities and also for volunteers from other parishes. However, this also had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. She will be involved in presenting online training sessions that are to be provided very soon. Ann jane has also been invited to join the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Group which meets quarterly. In her professional life, Ann Jane works in the area of safeguarding in the sporting arena. This experience also benefits her work in St. Mungo’s.
In co-operation with the Safeguarding Office, we ensure that all our volunteers are appropriately vetted and that their training is up to date. It is also my role as parish priest to ensure that all the priests involved in the parish have their vetting and training up to date, and that any visiting priests are priests in good standing and fully aware of safeguarding protocols. As a community, we vow never to forget those who have been harmed or abused, whether by members of the church, their family, or any other person, and we never cease to pray for them and to care about them. 2019 saw the introduction, of the Friday after Ash Wednesday, as a Day of Prayer for the survivors of abuse. Here in St. Mungo’s, we have marked that occasion with special prayers at the daily Masses; Stations of the Cross in solidarity with victims of abuse worldwide, and a prayer service which was conducted at the Lady Altar. The Day of Prayer this year is next Friday 19th February and we will be doing the same again, only this time they will be streamed. You will find the details on our website, and we will also post a copy of this presentation. We encourage you to join us next Friday, for some or all of those events, if possible.
In March 2018 the Bishops of Scotland published “In God’s Image”, a comprehensive instruction on Safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Scotland, for implementation, initially for an experimental period of 3 years, in all Catholic jurisdictions throughout the country. A review of this, with the 3-year experimental period soon to expire, has been undertaken, and the instruction will be revised in line with that review as soon as is possible. In line with this a “Safeguarding Code of Conduct” for all church employees and volunteers was issued. From the outset, in St. Mungo’s, we posted this code of conduct in the church porch and in other appropriate locations, and distributed it to all our employees and volunteers.
In the church porch there is also a poster, in line with “In God’s Image”, which highlights our Safeguarding policy and has contact details for the Archdiocese, the parish, and a dedicated phone number for the parish co-ordinator. This is also posted in other appropriate locations in St. Mungo’s. This information, as well as a dedicated safeguarding email address, is printed every week in the Parish Newsletter which, for the moment, is online only. There was also made available to everyone, the Safeguarding leaflet from the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service – Taking a Close look at Safeguarding in our Church, and any new or updated material that came out was always made available. Again, we are talking about during normal times as these had to be removed as part of Covid-19 protocols. We encouraged people to take these leaflets and to embrace safeguarding as the responsibility of all of us. Safeguarding is also a permanent agenda item on our Parish Council meetings, which we have continued through Zoom in this period when we cannot physically meet.
Each year we commit ourselves anew to our safeguarding principles and to renewing and improving our practice in any way we can. We adhere to the protocols and procedures laid out by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, including, as we have said, the safe recruitment and proper training of our volunteers. Each year we also complete a Parish Safeguarding Audit to be submitted to the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service. The audit for 2020 was completed and submitted, on time, at the end of January. These protocols and procedures, and the vigilance of all of us involved in the life of the parish, help to ensure that everyone feels safe when they come to Mass, or to any other services or events here in St. Mungo’s. Please God, we will be able to return to those very soon. We are grateful to all those volunteers in our parish who work with our children and young people, or with vulnerable adults, to enable them to grow in faith, and as human beings created and loved by God. We hope to be reconnecting with those groups once again, whenever activities are able to resume.
May we all embrace this shared responsibility in delivering a duty of care to all of our parish family.
Thank you.
Fr Frank Keevins C.P. 14th Feb 2021
Normally, this statement would be presented at all the weekend Masses by our parish safeguarding co-ordinator, Ann Jane Malloy. However, in these Covid times, that’s not possible, and so, for this year, I am presenting it as parish priest at this streamed mass. In St. Mungo’s, in normal times, we have a variety of activities that involve children and young people, primarily the children’s liturgy; the altar servers; and the God Squad meetings for Sacramental Preparation. These activities, including God Squad sessions for 1st Reconciliation and for Confirmations, took place in 2020 before the first lockdown came last March, but, obviously, there have been no activities since. It’s still very important, however, for myself, on behalf of the safeguarding co-ordinator, the parish team, the parish pastoral council; our catechists, our volunteers, and all concerned, to take the opportunity to bring our safeguarding policy, and our commitment to it, to the attention of the whole parish community, once again, through this statement, and through our website.
The Bishops Conference of Scotland seeks to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who are involved in whatever capacity in the church and in its organisations, and that is the responsibility of all of us in the church community. In this respect I must pay tribute to the commitment to safeguarding of Archbishop Tartaglia, who tragically died just one month ago, his month’s mind Mass having been celebrated yesterday. Pope Francis has also firmly stated that he wants families to know that they have the right to expect that they are safe and secure in “Our Father’s House”.
It is part of our parish policy that our parish safeguarding co-ordinator meet regularly with children and young people, as well as volunteers in regulated activities, to ensure that they can put a face and name to who she is, and that they understand the role that she has in the parish, in the name of all of us, and to reinforce our commitment to their welfare and to safeguarding. This she did, once again, until lockdown suspended activities and it was no longer possible. Ann Jane’s capability in regard to safeguarding is valued by the Safeguarding Office and she has been trained as a level 2 trainer. It was the intention last March that St. Mungo’s would host a level 2 training session for all our own volunteers in regulated activities and also for volunteers from other parishes. However, this also had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. She will be involved in presenting online training sessions that are to be provided very soon. Ann jane has also been invited to join the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Group which meets quarterly. In her professional life, Ann Jane works in the area of safeguarding in the sporting arena. This experience also benefits her work in St. Mungo’s.
In co-operation with the Safeguarding Office, we ensure that all our volunteers are appropriately vetted and that their training is up to date. It is also my role as parish priest to ensure that all the priests involved in the parish have their vetting and training up to date, and that any visiting priests are priests in good standing and fully aware of safeguarding protocols. As a community, we vow never to forget those who have been harmed or abused, whether by members of the church, their family, or any other person, and we never cease to pray for them and to care about them. 2019 saw the introduction, of the Friday after Ash Wednesday, as a Day of Prayer for the survivors of abuse. Here in St. Mungo’s, we have marked that occasion with special prayers at the daily Masses; Stations of the Cross in solidarity with victims of abuse worldwide, and a prayer service which was conducted at the Lady Altar. The Day of Prayer this year is next Friday 19th February and we will be doing the same again, only this time they will be streamed. You will find the details on our website, and we will also post a copy of this presentation. We encourage you to join us next Friday, for some or all of those events, if possible.
In March 2018 the Bishops of Scotland published “In God’s Image”, a comprehensive instruction on Safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Scotland, for implementation, initially for an experimental period of 3 years, in all Catholic jurisdictions throughout the country. A review of this, with the 3-year experimental period soon to expire, has been undertaken, and the instruction will be revised in line with that review as soon as is possible. In line with this a “Safeguarding Code of Conduct” for all church employees and volunteers was issued. From the outset, in St. Mungo’s, we posted this code of conduct in the church porch and in other appropriate locations, and distributed it to all our employees and volunteers.
In the church porch there is also a poster, in line with “In God’s Image”, which highlights our Safeguarding policy and has contact details for the Archdiocese, the parish, and a dedicated phone number for the parish co-ordinator. This is also posted in other appropriate locations in St. Mungo’s. This information, as well as a dedicated safeguarding email address, is printed every week in the Parish Newsletter which, for the moment, is online only. There was also made available to everyone, the Safeguarding leaflet from the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service – Taking a Close look at Safeguarding in our Church, and any new or updated material that came out was always made available. Again, we are talking about during normal times as these had to be removed as part of Covid-19 protocols. We encouraged people to take these leaflets and to embrace safeguarding as the responsibility of all of us. Safeguarding is also a permanent agenda item on our Parish Council meetings, which we have continued through Zoom in this period when we cannot physically meet.
Each year we commit ourselves anew to our safeguarding principles and to renewing and improving our practice in any way we can. We adhere to the protocols and procedures laid out by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, including, as we have said, the safe recruitment and proper training of our volunteers. Each year we also complete a Parish Safeguarding Audit to be submitted to the Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service. The audit for 2020 was completed and submitted, on time, at the end of January. These protocols and procedures, and the vigilance of all of us involved in the life of the parish, help to ensure that everyone feels safe when they come to Mass, or to any other services or events here in St. Mungo’s. Please God, we will be able to return to those very soon. We are grateful to all those volunteers in our parish who work with our children and young people, or with vulnerable adults, to enable them to grow in faith, and as human beings created and loved by God. We hope to be reconnecting with those groups once again, whenever activities are able to resume.
May we all embrace this shared responsibility in delivering a duty of care to all of our parish family.
Thank you.
Fr Frank Keevins C.P. 14th Feb 2021
