Bonita Thom
Director, Office of Respect Life & Safe Environment
In Wisconsin, April is known as Strengthening Families Month, and throughout the United States it is considered Child Abuse Prevention Month. Both initiatives promote the inherent value and goodness of each individual and the importance of healthy and safe relationships.
For some fun and fruitful ways to strengthen families and prevent child abuse, please find a calendar of events in our March and April Chancery Bulletins, which can be found on the Diocese of Superior website at catholicdos.org/chancery-bulletin.
The Catholic Church teaches that human dignity is rooted in the truth that each person is created in God’s image, redeemed by Christ and endowed with inherent worth. This is the reason the church places so much importance on safeguarding our young people and those who are vulnerable. We continually work to provide safe and sacred spaces so all can grow and become the beautifully unique individuals God created us to be.
Many of you may be familiar with our adult Safe Environment training, where we teach ways to protect others, and our expectations on personal conduct. The church requires this training because we value the dignity of every person from conception to natural death, regardless of the person’s age, stage in life or personal challenges. The Catholic Church states that it is our moral obligation to protect those who are vulnerable, such as children and those who are unjustly treated.
Circle of Grace is our children’s Safe Environment curriculum, and each age-appropriate lesson correlates with appropriate Catholic teachings. Our children and young people are taught about their own and other people’s sacredness and dignity, boundary limits and how to protect themselves from negative social influences.
Circle of Grace was developed by the Archdiocese of Omaha, and the goal of the curriculum is to educate and empower our young people to be active in providing a safe environment for themselves and others. You can learn more about Circle of Grace on the Archdiocese of Omaha website at archomaha.org/circleofgrace.
Circle of Grace is the only child and youth Safe Environment curriculum approved for the Diocese of Superior with the exception of the seventh- (and sometimes eighth-) grade classes. In grade seven or eight, depending on if we have the two grades taught together in the parish or cluster, the video “Chosen: Stop Predators” (Parochial – Christian Schools version from SharedHope International) is taught to help our young people identify the signs of recruitment (or grooming) by predators before they become victims of trafficking.
With the global issue of trafficking, we are working hard to safeguard our youth as well as educating them to know their value and encourage them to protect themselves. Through all our children’s Safe Environment training, we teach the importance of our own and others’ dignity and worth as we are created in God’s image and likeness. These are values we carry with us throughout our life to help us grow as God’s people and share our lives with those we meet.
Safeguarding flows directly from the church’s moral tradition, animated by virtue. May we as families and individuals grow in virtue and build a world where faith, hope and charity are prominent in our culture.
Bonita Thom
