Diocese of Brooklyn Code of Pastoral Conduct
For Volunteers
Our children are the most important gifts God has entrusted to us. As a volunteer, I promise to strictly follow the rules and guidelines in this
Volunteer’s Code of Pastoral Conduct as a condition of my providing services to the children and young people of our Diocese, parishes or affiliated
agencies.
As a volunteer,
I WILL treat everyone, including clergy,
religious, parents and other adults and children with respect, loyalty, patience, courtesy, and dignity.
I
WILL represent the teachings of the Catholic Church with integrity in word and
action
I WILL work
collaboratively with the clergy, other supervisors and associates in ministry.
I WILL
avoid situations where I am alone with children and/or
young people before, during or after Church activities.
I WILL maintain appropriate boundaries in my
relationships with children and/or young people.
I WILL
use positive reinforcement rather than criticism, competition, or comparison when working with children and/or
young people.
I
WILL refuse to accept expensive gifts from children and/or young people or their parents without prior written approval from the pastor or administrator.
I WILL refrain from giving gifts to
children and/or young people without prior written approval from the parents or legal guardian and the
pastor or administrator.
I WILL
immediately report suspected
abuse to the pastor, administrator, or appropriate supervisor and to appropriate authorities as required by law.
I WILL cooperate fully in
any investigation of abuse of children and/or young people.
As a volunteer,
I WILL NOT interact with children or young people through E-mail, social network sites or other forms of electronic communications except for
delivering information for the
program I am providing.
I WILL
NOT assist children
and young people to access pornography or other sexual material online or influence their exploration of pornography through any media outlet.
I
WILL NOT
use
parish, school or any agency computers or other electronic
communications to participate in chat rooms or engage in
social interaction on any social network sites.
I WILL
NOT photograph or use
photographs of children or young people without the
explicit permission of the parents or legal guardian.
I WILL NOT
touch a child and/or young person in a sexual or other inappropriate manner.
I WILL NOT use, possess, or be under
the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs at any time while volunteering in any diocesan, parish or church activity.
I WILL NOT pose any health risk to children and/or
young people.
I WILL NOT strike, spank,
shake, or slap children and/or any young
person.
I WILL NOT
use profanity, sexual language or any other inappropriate language in the
presence of children and/or
young people.
To: Volunteer
From: Safe Environment
Office, Diocese of Brooklyn
Please read the
above Code of Pastoral Conduct for Volunteers and keep it as a reference and as part of your records.
Sign the
below Agreement Form for Pastoral Codes of Conduct and return the form to the designated person in your parish (Pastor, DRE, Principal,
etc.)
Thank you
for Protecting God’s Children
as well as protecting yourself from false accusations.
For information
call: (718) 281- 9670 or (718) 281- 9671
