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
Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...
of children in the Church. It is currently in use in over 80
dioceses
In 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 provinces were administratively associate ...
in the United States.
History
In response to the growing public awareness of child sexual abuse in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 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
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
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 Rossetti, D. Min., Ph.D.
*Phyllis Willerscheidt
The goal of the VIRTUS program is primarily to be proactive instead of reactive when dealing with child sexual abuse. To prevent sexual abuse, VIRTUS advocates five steps:
#Knowing the warning signs of abuse
#Controlling access to children
#Monitoring programs involving children
#Being aware of how children behave
#Communicating concerns
VIRTUS focuses on educating teachers, parents, and other adults who interact with children about sexual abuse and providing them with information to help prevent abuse. This takes place in 'awareness sessions' led by trained facilitators. The awareness sessions consist of videos, worksheets, and discussions. The videos incorporate interviews with both victims and convicted perpetrators.
Related programs
In addition to its most common Protecting God's Children program, VIRTUS also has Victim Advocacy Training and VIRTUS Investigation Training. The Protecting God's Children program is also available in an online form.
The creation of the VIRTUS program is similar to efforts in other Christian churches to help prevent child sexual abuse. One such program is Safe Sanctuaries, through the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant 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 evangelica ...
.
See also
*
Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, conviction ...
*
Roman Catholic priests accused of sex offenses
*
Crimen sollicitationis
( Latin for ''On the Manner of Proceeding in Cases of the Crime of Solicitation'') is the title of a 1962 document ("instruction") of the Holy Office codifying procedures to be followed in cases of priests or bishops of the Catholic Church ...
References
External links
*http://www.virtusonline.org The main VIRTUS site
*http://www.safesanctuaries.org The Safe Sanctuaries Site
*http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/ Boston Globe spotlight
*http://www.uuworld.org/2003/01/trend.html Article on Unitarian Universalist safeguards
*http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/childsexualabuse.html ChristianAnswers.net page about child sexual abuse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virtus
Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in the United States