Section 1 – PREVENTION (contd.)

Page 1 | Page 2

Art. 38 | Codes of Behaviour for Adults

► Indicator S3.A | Page S-31 | Guidance on Codes of Behaviour for Adults

► Indicator S3.A | Page S-32 | Template 1: Sample Code of Behaviour for Adults

► Indicator S7.B | Page S-105 to 108 | Guidance on Conducting Ministry with Children Using Digital Media

The positive behaviour required of adults taking part in activities of the Prelature with minors is outlined in Article 20. Specific forms of prohibited behaviour are described in Article 21. These elements are consolidated with the sample Code of Behaviour for Adults provided in the NBSCCCI Indicator S3.A Template 1 and the guidance on unacceptable behaviour in internet use in NBSCCCI Indicator S7.B to form the Code of Behaviour included in this Policy. This Code is to be signed by volunteers and is also be made available as a stand-alone document.

If a minor or an adult breaches the Code of Behaviour, efforts should be made to resolve the issue by:

Discussion with and support for the adult or the child/young person;
A child/young person or adult may be asked to apologise for their behaviour;
In the case of a child/young person, involving their parents/guardians;
Agreeing on sanctions.

Art. 42 | Measures against Bullying

► Indicator S3.D | Page S-36 | Guidance on Anti-Bullying

Bullying is “intentional, repeated and aggressive physical, verbal or psychological behaviour directed by an individual or group against others”.

Art. 43 | Boundary Violations

► Indicator S3.E | Page S-38 | Guidance on Boundary Violations

Within the Church body there should be codes of behaviour for adult-to-child interactions (Article 40 and 41) which should not be breached. Those ministering with children must be aware of the boundaries, parameters and limits of these relationships, where a child - and their parents or guardians - entrust their welfare and safety to a member of Church personnel.

Behaviour which is inappropriate but which does not meet the threshold of abuse must always be taken seriously and addressed.

All concerns relating to the abuse of a child which reach the threshold must be reported to the statutory authorities (Indicator 2.1A ).

Art. 44 | Safe Care for Children

► Indicator S4.A | Page S-41 | Guidance on Support and Supervision

► Indicator S5.A | Page S-48 | Template 2: Attendance Register for Large Groups

► Indicator S5.A | Page S-49 | Template 3: Attendance Register for Sacristy

► Indicator S5.A | Page S-50 | Template 4: Child and Guardian Joint Consent

§1 The role of the Prelature in Ireland in activities for minors is normally limited to specific events (e.g. talks) involving the “advancement of religious beliefs to children” (see relevant work) in the context of wider activities organised by other entities which are not under the authority of the Regional Vicar. Responsibility for attendance records and other organisational issues in these wider activities will normally fall on the entity that takes the lead in sponsoring and promoting them.

§2 The Prelature in Ireland does not maintain public churches and sacristies on its own behalf. Where priests of the Prelature are responsible for a public church, it is on behalf of the diocese to which the church belongs and they observe the safeguarding policies of the diocese in relation to that church and its sacristy.

§3 Minors are not admitted to sacristies attached to oratories in centres for which the Prelature in Ireland has responsibility, even when such oratories might occasionally be used for activities involving minors. The need for a sacristy register (such as is the norm in a public church) does not ordinarily arise in such sacristies.

§4 In any other situation (e.g. a youth centre or a school) in which an oratory is occasionally or regularly used in connection with the work of the Prelature in Ireland with minors, a Register (see Indicator S5.A Template 3: Attendance Register for Sacristy) is to be maintained. All clergy, altar servers, sacristans and others who participate in liturgical services are to be requested to sign the register.

§5 Likewise, in exceptional cases (e.g. a residential retreat for minors which is not organised by a school or club) in which the primary responsibility would lie with the Prelature in Ireland, a parental consent form (see Indicator S5.A | Template 4: Child and Guardian Joint Consent) is to be used.

Art. 45 | Dealing with Accidents

§1 As indicated in Article 44 §1 above, responsibility for dealing with accidents will normally lie with the entity that takes the lead in sponsoring and promoting the wider activity of which the involvement of the Prelature in Ireland forms part.

§2 In an exceptional case or where the urgency of the situation requires it, Prelature personnel should follow the guidance below on Dealing with Accidents, and where appropriate complete a report on the incident.

► Indicator S5.E | Page S-61 | Guidance on Dealing with Accidents

► Indicator S5.E | Page S-62 | Template 1: Form for Dealing with Accidents/ Incidents

Art. 46 | Adequate Supervision Ratios

§1 In planning a trip or activity, it is critically important to consider how many adults are needed to supervise children in a safe manner. This will normally be the responsibility of the civil entity organising the overall event, and not that of the personnel of the Prelature in Ireland who provide a specific service or input in that context (see Article 44 §1).

§2 In an exceptional case where Prelature personnel take responsibility for such supervision, the appropriate ratios indicated below for the age-bracket thirteen to eighteen should be followed, since the Prelature in Ireland as such would not be involved in giving religious formation to younger age-groups. Accordingly, there should be at least one adult for every ten minors, subject to a minimum of two adults supervising each activity.

► Indicator S5.C | Page S-59 | Guidance on Maintaining Adequate Supervision Ratios

Art. 47 | One-to-One Contact with Minors

§1 In general, Church activities should not involve one-to-one contact, and should usually be supervised by at least two adults (see Article 46 above). However, there may be two circumstances where this may occur:

1° In a reactive situation, for example, when a young person requests a one-to-one meeting with you without warning, or where a young person has had to be removed from a group as part of a code of behaviour (see Article 41 above);

2° As part of a planned and structured piece of work (for example, one-to-one music tuition).

► Indicator S5.D | Page S-60 | Guidance on One-to-One Contact with Children and Young People

Art. 48 | Sacrament of Reconciliation

§1 The Irish Episcopal Conference, in accordance with the prescriptions of Can. 964 CIC has decreed the following complementary norms governing the disposition and location of confessionals:

1° Confessionals are to be located in a place which is clearly visible and accessible, and are to be fitted with a fixed grille between the penitent and confessor

2° Rooms which are used as confessionals must be in a public place, visible (for example through the provision of a glass panel), and provide the penitent with the option of using a grille

3° Sacramental confession for children should be in a place where both priest and child may be seen but not heard, preferably in a church or oratory.

§2 The sacrament of reconciliation and any associated personal spiritual guidance of a minor (male or female) with a priest of the Prelature, should take place in a confessional located in a public place and arranged as two separate cubicles or rooms and separated by a wall or screen with a fixed grille. This requirement applies in every circumstance other than in a case of necessity (e.g. visiting a patient in a hospital ward), in which case adequate compensatory precautions should be put in place.

§3 For the other safeguarding aspects of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and in Spiritual Guidance, see Article 115 and Article 127.

Art. 49 | Children with Specific Needs

► Indicator S8.A | Page S-117 | Guidance on the Participation of Children with Specific Needs

The Prelature in Ireland does not have the mission or resources to offer appropriate services for children with specific needs. Where such children participate in activities organised by other entities, in which the Prelature in Ireland is involved (e.g. through the services of a priest), the safeguarding policy of the other entity will inform the management of the needs of the minor concerned. In any such instance, the personnel of the Prelature will also have regard to the guidance in Indicator S8.A.

Art. 50 | Trips Away with Young People

► Indicator S5.F | Page S-63 | Guidance on Trips Away with Young People

Although the Prelature in Ireland will seldom have a direct role in organising such events, the guidance will be borne in mind by any personnel of the Prelature who may be involved.

Art. 51 | Use of Church Property by Others

► Indicator S6.A | Page S-67 | Guidance on External Groups who Use Church Property

► Indicator S6.A | Page S-69 | Template 1: Form for Use of Church Property by External Groups

► Indicator S6.B | Page S-71 | Guidance on Requests by Individuals for Use of Church Property for One Off Private Functions

This guidance concerns the use of the property of a church body by external groups. This situation does not arise in practice in the work of the Prelature in Ireland as it does not own, let or insure property.

Art. 52 | Relations with Civil Entities and Lay Apostolates

► Indicator S6.C | Page S-72 | Guidance on Safeguarding Support for Associations of the Faithful

► Indicator S6.C | Page S-78 | Template 1: Form for Use with Associations of the Faithful

§1 Working relationships with civil (i.e. non-ecclesiastical) entities feature in the work of the Prelature in Ireland, in which the civil entity (e.g. a school, club or other organisation) organises activities with minors and owns and insures the properties in which they take place.

§2 In such cases, the role of the Prelature - on foot of a written agreement - will normally be to provide a specific service (e.g. chaplain to a school, persons to give talks of formation in a youth activity) in cooperation with the activities being undertaken by the civil entity in question.

§3 In appropriate cases, the Prelature may also take a wider responsibility for the Christian orientation and ethos of the activities of the institution or project (e.g. in a student residence).

§4 In such relationships, the following principles apply:

The Prelature cannot cooperate with a civil entity which does not maintain an adequate safeguarding policy and procedures (see the Checklist of Safeguarding Standards for external entities), with a level of protection and response (where relevant) equivalent to that applicable to the Prelature in this Policy.
The Prelature and the entity in question each devise and take full civil responsibility for the implementation of their own safeguarding policies and procedures, independently of the other party.
The working relationship between the civil entity and the Prelature does not bring the civil entity within the ambit of the safeguarding responsibility of the Prelature as a Church body, nor does it entail per se a commitment by the civil body to adhere to the standards or oversight of the NBSCCCI.
Nevertheless, the nature of the cooperation involves each party being informed of the relevant policies and procedures of the other, and may require the exchange of safeguarding information (including about shared personnel) when necessary to comply with their mutual civil and moral responsibilities to the minors concerned and to their parents or guardians.
If a complaint is made to the Regional Vicar about a possible offence, committed by lay persons who are not appointed to act for the Prelature but who are engaged by a civil entity whose Christian orientation is the responsibility of the Region, the Vicar shall act in accordance with Article 93 (reporting to civil authorities) and promptly communicate the information to the civil entity, to be acted upon in accordance with its own safeguarding policy. This will apply whether or not the persons concerned are faithful of the Prelature, see Article 77.
A written agreement between the parties shall specify how these principles are to be implemented and provide a legal basis for the sharing of safeguarding, vetting and other personal data to the extent strictly necessary to meet their joint responsibilities.

Art. 53 | Whistleblowing

► Indicator S9.A | Page S-119 | Guidance on Whistle-Blowing

§1 This guidance relates to concerns that a member of a Church body might have about malpractice in child safeguarding in that Church body. Such concerns differ from boundary violations by individuals or possible instances of abuse (see Article 43). The Guidance should be consulted whenever you have a concern in this area.

§2 All staff and volunteers ministering or volunteering within the Catholic Church in Ireland have an individual responsibility to bring matters of concern about any dereliction of duty to safeguard children, to the attention of the appropriate person within the Church or statutory authorities – in the case of the Prelature in Ireland, this would ordinarily be the Safeguarding Coordinator or Deputy Coordinator.

Art. 54 | Complaints Procedure for Other Safeguarding Concerns (not Allegations of Abuse)

§1 A complaint is defined as a grievance and/or the raising of a concern, by someone who is not a member of the personnel of the Church body, about breaches of codes of behaviour.

§2 This complaints procedure is not for use by Church personnel; who should use the whistle-blowing procedure to raise their complaint (See Article 53 above).

► Indicator S9.B | Page S-126 | Guidance on Complaints Procedure for Safeguarding Concerns that are not Allegations of Abuse

► Indicator S9.B | Page S-128 | Template 1: Complaints Form

§3 The above guidance should be considered and the Complaints Form completed by anyone who has a relevant concern in relation to the work of the Prelature in Ireland.

§4 Allegations or suspicions of child abuse do not fall into the category of general complaints and they should always be dealt with in accordance with Article 109.

Art. 55 | Hazard Assessment of Activities with Children

► Indicator S5.A | Page S-44 | Guidance on Risk Assessment of Activities with Children

► Indicator S5.A | Page S-46 | Template 1: Example Risk Assessment Form

§1 Part 2, Article 11 of the Children First Act 2015 requires all services who work with children to have a Child Safeguarding Statement (see Article 16).

§2 The core component of this Statement is risk assessment, which assists with managing both health and safety issues and the welfare of children. The guidance above shows how to prepare and complete a Hazard Assessment Form as the basis for the Child Safeguarding Statement.

§3 A model Statement prepared by the NBSCCCI (cf. circular letter, 7th June 2024) has been reviewed by Tusla and deemed to satisfy this requirement. This model has been followed by the Prelature in Ireland in its current published Child Safeguarding Statement.

Art. 56 | Use of Technology

► Indicator S7.A | Page S-102 | Guidance on Use of Technology

► Indicator S7.A | Page S-104 | Template 1: Media Permission Form

§1 The use of mobile phones, computers or photography of children does not normally give cause for concern. However, there are occasions when this is not the case. At the outset it is important to identify the risks associated with the use of technology, and then to minimise the risks by putting in place measures outlined in the following 4 articles.

§2 In the context of ‘relevant work’ by Church bodies with minors, detailed policies and procedures should be followed on the use of technology, including digital and online systems such as:

1° The internet (Article 57)

2° Texting and emailing (Article 58)

3° Photography (Article 59)

4° CCTV and webcams (Article 60).

§3 The consent of parents/guardians and children should always be sought prior to engaging in any such activities involving minors.

Art. 57 | Use of the Internet

► Indicator S7.B | Page S-105 to 108 | Guidance on Conducting Ministry with Children Using Digital Media

Art. 58 | Use of Texting and Email

► Indicator S7.C | Page S-111 | Guidance on Use of Texting and Email

Art. 59 | Use of Photography

► Indicator S7.D | Page S-113 | Guidance on Use of Photography

Art. 60 | Use of CCTV and Webcams

► Indicator S7.E | Page S-115 | Guidance on Use of CCTV and Webcams

Art. 61 | Ensuring that Priests who are Ministering in an External Organisation or Church Body agree to follow effective Safeguarding Practice

§1 It is important that the Church authority have confirmation from each external organisation or Church body, in which priests are ministering with children, that effective safeguarding policies and procedures are in place.

► Indicator S6.F | Page S-87 | Guidance on Ensuring All Clerics / Religious, who are Members of the Church Body and are Ministering with Children in an External Organisation / Church Body, Agree to Follow Effective Safeguarding Practice

§2 To do this, the Church authority should have written agreements in place for every priest who is ministering with children in an external organisation or Church body (see below).

► Indicator S6.F | Page S-88 | Template 1: Form for Clerics/Religious who have Ministry With Children in an External Organisation/Church Body

§3 Such agreements should specify:

1° That the organisation for whom the member is ministering has safeguarding policies and procedures in place,

2° That the member ministering in this external organisation understands that while they are working for that organisation, the safeguarding policies and procedures must be adhered to.

Art. 62 | International Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedures

► Indicator S10 | Page S-129 to 138 | Template: Example International Child Safeguarding Policy.

§1 The “Prelature in Ireland” is part of the Region of North-West Europe of the Prelature of Opus Dei – and accordingly is subject to the Regional Safeguarding Policy (RSP) and the global Prelature Safeguarding Policy (PSP) for whole of the Prelature of Opus Dei.

§2 These regional and global policies are incorporated in this Local Safeguarding Policy (in Parts A & B of each Section) and comply in substance with the guidance given for an International Child Safeguarding Policy in the above template, while extending its scope to incorporate detailed canonical procedures.

Art. 63 | International Code of Behaviour

The Code of Behaviour with Minors (see Article 38) is incorporated into the vetting application process for volunteers in Ireland but is also to be signed by volunteers involved in any activity of giving formation to minors on behalf of the Prelature, wherever it takes place.

Art. 64 | Cooperation with International Entities

The general Checklist of Safeguarding Standards to be met by national or international external entities (see Article 52), in activities which include formation given on behalf of the Prelature of Opus Dei to minors or vulnerable persons, is of international scope. It is applicable, for example, to work camps and other trips abroad involving minors, which involve co-operation with other agencies.