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August 22, 2017

Diocese introduces VIRTUS online child protection training at daylong program

REGIONAL
Story and photo by Kathleen Harrington

 

CHICOPEE – The Diocese of Springfield is making a deeper commitment to safeguard children from abuse within the church through a national online training called VIRTUS. Clergy, lay ministers, and volunteers from all four counties in the diocese spent the day learning to facilitate the “Protecting God’s Children” program in their own parishes.

The daylong program, held at the Castle of the Knights in Chicopee, was led by trainer Paul Ashton, a psychologist in Boston, and Patricia Neal, director of the VIRTUS program.

Launched in 2002, VIRTUS is a training program created in response to the clergy child sexual abuse scandal. “Protecting God’s Children” is now offered as an online awareness session for church employees, lay ministers, and clergy.

“We took the training and made thirteen lessons out of it,” explained Neal. The interactive online training features videos, some reading, and questions. VIRTUS programs help parishes protect children, educate adults about dangerous situations and adults’ responsibilities if abuse is suspected. 

The VIRTUS training is another layer of protection in addition to the criminal offender background investigation (CORI), the Diocese of Springfield Safe Environment training, and for school employees, the state-mandated fingerprinting regulations.

Catherine Farr, human resources director for the Diocese of Springfield, said the day of training reached the maximum capacity and had a waiting list.

“One hundred and eight people registered, including 20 priests. A hundred and four people made it today,” said Farr. “All the participants will be trained facilitators of the VIRTUS training,” she explained. The newly trained facilitators, many of them the parish designated “child advocates,” will train religious education teachers, lay ministers, and other volunteers in each parish.

“There will be additional training of facilitators at the Marshall Center,” said Patricia McManamy, director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection for the Diocese of Springfield. She will lead the training sessions at St. Michael’s Cathedral before traveling around the diocese to offer it regionally.

There is no charge for the VIRTUS training. It is available online on the diospringfield.org website. Click on the “Child & Youth Protection” tab and, once on the page, the VIRTUS, Excellence Builds Trust logo will take you to the VIRTUS registration page.

Watch for a video story on the VIRTUS training on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP TV22.

 

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