MISSION STATEMENT
We the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Scranton,
in union with our Holy Father, the Pope, are called
through baptism to share in the mission which Jesus
Christ has entrusted to the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church. Priests, deacons, religious and laity,
under the leadership of our Bishop, cooperate to
proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the teaching of
the Church, to celebrate the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist, for the salvation of all, and to witness by
grace to the Kingdom of God so as to promote a culture
of life, justice and peace.
Subscribe
to News Briefing |
This Issue:
|
| Auditors
Will Check Parishes and Schools for Charter
Compliance |
| Catholic
Charities USA Raises $101 Million for Hurricane
Recovery Efforts |
| General
Intercessions |
| About
News Briefing |
Auditors Will Check Parishes and Schools for
Charter Compliance |
The National
Review Board established by the U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops is conducting its annual
audits to ensure that dioceses are following the
Charter for the Protection of Children and
Young People.
The next audit of
the Diocese of Scranton, which will be an
on-site focused audit, will take place the week
of Nov. 28. Auditors will check parishes and
schools to determine their compliance with the
Charter provision regarding background checks
and clearances for all employees and volunteers.
The audit will also examine how the Diocese has
implemented its safe environment program for
children, particularly the education component
for students.
The Diocese,
through its Office for Parish Life and the
Catholic Schools Office, has been assisting
pastors and school administrators to comply with
these requirements. Information binders have
been provided, and a series of 10 workshops were
held in the various regions of the Diocese to
answer questions about the acquisition of the
background checks and clearances.
As a final step in
this process, the Diocese is conducting a
pre-audit inspection of parish binders to verify
that all of the necessary documentation is
present. Pastors are reminded to submit their
binder to the Chancellor no later than this
Monday, Nov. 14. The binders will be returned to
pastors in time for the arrival of the auditors
on Nov. 28.
The Diocese is
continuing to use the VIRTUS sexual abuse
awareness and prevention program, “Protecting
God’s Children,” to fulfill the educational
requirement of the Charter. Since the spring of
2003, 315 training sessions have been held and
more than 12,000 individuals – including the
Diocesan clergy, staff, teachers, coaches,
parents and volunteers – across the 11-county
Diocese have been trained in ways to recognize
and report child sexual abuse.
A component of
this program designed specifically for children
was offered to students in Diocesan Catholic
schools last spring and will be provided again
in the spring of 2006.
For more
information about VIRTUS training or the
background checks and clearances, contact Sarah
Mountain, director of youth and young adult
programs in the Office for Parish Life, at
570-207-2213. |
Catholic Charities USA Raises $101 Million for
Hurricane Recovery Efforts |
Catholic
Charities USA has raised a record $101 million
to assist in what will be the network’s
largest disaster response effort in its history:
responding to the needs of families affected by
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Approximately
$900,000 was contributed by parishes and schools
in the Diocese of Scranton.
Across the nation,
from the Gulf Coast to Maine to Washington
State, more than 80 local Catholic Charities,
including Catholic Social Services of the
Diocese of Scranton, are working to meet the
needs of hurricane victims. Relief efforts may
include: providing victims with food, financial
aid, clothing, shelter, gas and retail store
cards, and household goods; helping with medical
and prescription needs; offering clean up
assistance; helping victims work with FEMA and
other groups; and providing crisis counseling,
case management, transportation, job placement,
and temporary and long-term housing.
All monies donated
for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita recovery will
continue to go out in the weeks, months, and
years to come as these agencies carry on their
recovery work. Catholic Charities USA is
consistently ranked among the highest and most
efficient networks in the country. The
organization, which was commissioned by the U.S.
Catholic Bishops to represent the Catholic
community in times of domestic disaster and to
respond with emergency and long-term assistance
as needed, estimates that approximately 96
percent of the donations to its 2005 Hurricane
Relief fund will go directly to victim
assistance. |
General Intercessions |
| Men and women
from every parish in the Diocese of Scranton are
serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, many in
dangerous parts of the world such as Iraq.
Pastors are therefore urged to seek God’s
protection for them through praying for them
during the general intercessions offered at
every Mass of obligation. |
About News Briefing |
For our new
readers, News Briefing is an electronic
newsletter that is emailed to Diocesan clergy,
religious and personnel, as well as other
subscribers, every three weeks on Thursday, a
week prior to publication of The Catholic
Light newspaper.
News Briefing
will contain items from the Bishop’s Office,
Diocesan Curia, Chancery and other sources in a
concise format to keep you informed about
significant developments that affect the Diocese
and the Church. Other news, such as
announcements from parishes, schools and other
Diocesan institutions, will not be carried in
this brief format, but will continue to run in The
Catholic Light.
News Briefing
is posted on the Diocesan website at www.dioceseofscranton.org.
People can subscribe through the website. You
may also forward this email to anyone who might
be interested in news of the Diocese.
Thank you for
reading!
|
|
