Archbishop Pinder announces January 1, 2023 as the official launch date of Office of Safe Environments (OSE) and relaunch of the VIRTUS Program.
VIRTUS Protecting God’s Children Program Training has begun!
Committed to heighten awareness of the need to protect our youth and provide safe environments for them to learn, to grow and to worship; and for vulnerable adults to have the benefits of safe environments, Archbishop Patrick C. Pinder, invited trained facilitators, Mrs. Tricia Syms and Ms. Patricia Neal to conduct a 3-day VIRTUS Program training workshop.
Mrs. Syms, is the coordinator for The Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) VIRTUS Program and Ms. Neal, serves as Director of the VIRTUS Programs for National Catholic Services.
The Archbishop said, “The Protecting God’s Children and vulnerable adults in our parishes and schools is of greatest importance to all of us.”
The VIRTUS Protecting God’s Children Programme is designed to educate clergy, religious, educators, employees and volunteers on how to establish and maintain a safe environment for minors.
“This training and awareness is urgent! The Church needs to address and empower the people to protect the minors and vulnerable adults,” Syms noted.
She conducted a 3-hour session for the clergy on Thursday, November 17, at Emmaus Centre, Fox Hill.
“The clergy has a lot of influence on their parishioners. My goal is to empower the clergy in educating to exposing their parishioners of the importance of what they can do to protect children and vulnerable adults,” Syms said.
On Saturday, November 12, the VIRTUS Program facilitators, Ms. Neal and Mrs. Syms will also lead the training for all school administrators, youth leaders, Religious educators and Archdiocesan facilitators.
What is the VIRTUS Programme?
VIRTUS is the brand name that identifies best practice programs designed to help prevent wrongdoing and promote “rightdoing” within religious organizations. The VIRTUS programs empower organizations and people to better control risk and improve the lives of all those who interact within the Church.
