FOREWORD Abuse of power and breach of trust occur when one human being disregards, ignores or deliberately overbears the interests, wishes and feelings of another. Abuse and bullying result from one person treating another human being, a knowing, feeling subject, as an object. Such an act denies that the other person is a knowing, feeling subject and suggests that the person is an object to be used. It is a denial of the dignity God gives to every created being. If abuse is experienced from a member of the clergy or other church worker, it is also a gross misuse of the trust expected of the spiritual role and professional status of an ordained person, or any person authorised to minister to another. The damage caused by abuse never just goes away by itself. It may be pushed down and hidden for a time, but it festers and eventually resurfaces, often with damage multiplied and the pain intensified. We have seen this in the lives of victims of sexual abuse where the hurt wreaks havoc for decades, destroying the life of the individual concerned and distorting close relationships. The damage can even impact succeeding generations. What is true in the lives of individual victims is also true in the lives of institutions and parish communities. We can move only on if we face the hurtful reality of what has happened, extend care and support to those harmed, and take steps to ensure that as far as possible it never happens again.
FOREWORD Abuse of power and breach of trust occur when one human being disregards, ignores or deliberately overbears the interests, wishes and feelings of another. Abuse and bullying result from one person treating another human being, a knowing, feeling subject, as an object. Such an act denies that the other person is a knowing, feeling subject and suggests that the person is an object to be used. It is a denial of the dignity God gives to every created being. If abuse is experienced from a member of the clergy or other church worker, it is also a gross misuse of the trust expected of the spiritual role and professional status of an ordained person, or any person authorised to minister to another. The damage caused by abuse never just goes away by itself. It may be pushed down and hidden for a time, but it festers and eventually resurfaces, often with damage multiplied and the pain intensified. We have seen this in the lives of victims of sexual abuse where the hurt wreaks havoc for decades, destroying the life of the individual concerned and distorting close relationships. The damage can even impact succeeding generations. What is true in the lives of individual victims is also true in the lives of institutions and parish communities. We can move only on if we face the hurtful reality of what has happened, extend care and support to those harmed, and take steps to ensure that as far as possible it never happens again.
Power_and_Trust_Protocols_2013.docx