Virtus (program)
VIRTUS is a program created by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group in the United States with a "Protecting God's Children" component that combats sexual abuse of children in the Church. It is currently in use in over 80 dioceses in the United States. History In response to the growing public awareness of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, Monsignor Kevin McCoy and Rev. Edward J. Arsenault of the National Catholic Risk Retention Group asked their colleagues how sexual abuse could be prevented. This led to a convening of national experts in Washington, DC in March 1998, where discussion led to the concept of the VIRTUS program. An Ad Hoc committee was chosen by the National Catholic Board of Directors to implement the project. Goal and implementation The VIRTUS program began with a consulting team, including: *Rev. Edward J. Arsenault *Rev. John P. Beal, J.C.D. *Barbara Bonner, Ph.D. *David Finkelhor, Ph.D. *Jack McCalmon, Esq. *Michael Morton, M.S. *Fr. Stephen Ros ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is referred to as a ''sexual abuser''. Live streaming sexual abuse involves Sex trafficking, trafficking and coerced sexual acts, or rape, in real time on webcam. ''Molestation'' often refers to an instance of sexual assault against a small child. The perpetrator is called (often pejoratively) a ''molester''. The term also covers behavior by an adult or older adolescent towards a child to Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulate any of the involved. The use of a child for sexual stimulation is referred to as child sexual abuse and, for Pubescents, pubescent or post-pubescent individuals younger than the age of consent, statutory rape. Sexual abuse can be perpetrated against other vulnerable populations like the elderly, a form of elder abuse, or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dioceses
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, provinces were administratively associated in a larger unit, the Roman diocese, diocese (Latin ''dioecesis'', from the Greek language, Greek term διοίκησις, meaning "administration"). Christianity was given legal status in 313 with the Edict of Milan. Churches began to organize themselves into Roman diocese, dioceses based on the Roman diocese, civil dioceses, not on the larger regional imperial districts. These dioceses were often smaller than the Roman province, provinces. Christianity was declared the Empire's State church of the Roman Empire, official religion by Theodosius I in 380. Constantine the Great, Constantine I in 318 gave litigants the right to have court cases transferred from the civil courts to the bishops. This situa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activities with a child (whether by asking or pressuring, or by other means), indecent exposure, child grooming, and child sexual exploitation, such as using a child to produce child pornography. CSA is not confined to specific settings; it permeates various institutions and communities. CSA affects children in all socioeconomic levels, across all racial, ethnic, and cultural groups, and in both rural and urban areas. In places where child labor is common, CSA is not restricted to one individual setting; it passes through a multitude of institutions and communities. This includes but is not limited to schools, homes, and online spaces where adolescents are exposed to abuse and exploitation. Child marriage is one of the main forms of child sexual ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization.Gerald O'Collins, O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites#Churches, ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and Eparchy, eparchies List of Catholic dioceses (structured view), around the world, each overseen by one or more Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the Papal supremacy, chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with Maryland to its north and east. It was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States. The district is named for Columbia (personification), Columbia, the female National personification, personification of the nation. The Constitution of the United States, U.S. Constitution in 1789 called for the creation of a federal district under District of Columbia home rule, exclusive jurisdiction of the United States Congress, U.S. Congress. As such, Washington, D.C., is not part of any U.S. state, state, and is not one itself. The Residence Act, adopted on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the Capital districts and territories, capital district along the Potomac River. The city ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas by union of the Methodist Church (USA), Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the Christian revival, revival movement of John Wesley, John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the First Great Awakening, Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan. It embraces Christian liturgy, liturgical worship, Holiness movement, holiness, and evangelical elements. The United Methodist Church has a Connectionalism, connectional polity, a typical feature of a number of Methodist denominations. It is organized into Conferences in Meth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by priests, nuns, and other members of religious life in the Catholic Church. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the cases have involved several allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, acknowledgement and apologies by Church authorities, and revelations about decades of instances of abuse and attempts by Church officials to cover them up. The abused include mostly boys but also girls, some as young as three years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Criminal cases for the most part do not cover sexual harassment of adults. The accusations of abuse and cover-ups began to receive public attention during the late 1980s. Many of these cases allege decades of abuse, frequently made by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who covered up sex abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, wh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roman Catholic Sex Abuse Cases
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by priests, nuns, and other members of religious life in the Catholic Church. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the cases have involved several allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, acknowledgement and apologies by Church authorities, and revelations about decades of instances of abuse and attempts by Church officials to cover them up. The abused include mostly boys but also girls, some as young as three years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Criminal cases for the most part do not cover sexual harassment of adults. The accusations of abuse and cover-ups began to receive public attention during the late 1980s. Many of these cases allege decades of abuse, frequently made by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who covered up sex abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Footnotes
In publishing, a note is a brief text in which the author comments on the subject and themes of the book and names supporting citations. In the editorial production of books and documents, typographically, a note is usually several lines of text at the bottom of the page, at the end of a chapter, at the end of a volume, or a house-style typographic usage throughout the text. Notes are usually identified with superscript numbers or a symbol.''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (1992) p. 709. Footnotes are informational notes located at the foot of the thematically relevant page, whilst endnotes are informational notes published at the end of a chapter, the end of a volume, or the conclusion of a multi-volume book. Unlike footnotes, which require manipulating the page design (text-block and page layouts) to accommodate the additional text, endnotes are advantageous to editorial production because the textual inclusion does not alter the design of the publication. H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |