Causes and context report released on clergy sexual abuse of minors

http://www.catholicsentinel.org/Main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=34&ArticleID=15163

WASHINGTON—A study by researchers at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, which examined the causes and context of the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the U.S. Catholic Church, concluded that there was no single cause or predictor of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. The report added that that situational factors and opportunity to abuse played a significant role in the onset and continuation of abusive acts.

The report, released in Washington May 18, said there is "no single identifiable ’cause’ of sexually abusive behavior toward minors." It encouraged steps to deny abusers "the opportunity to abuse."

Titled "The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010," it reports the findings of a study mandated in 2002 under the U.S. Catholic bishops’ "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."

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Australian Army Chaplains Symposium

I enjoyed two days this week at the Hermitage in Mittagong with the Chaplaincy Corps of the Australian Army. 

The topic we examined together was the interaction of theology and pastoral relationships particularly in the context of military chaplaincy.

My powerpoint presentations are attached below:

Power and Trust in Pastoral Transactions

Integrating theology and practice in pastoral ministry

Theological Reflection and Stages of Leadership Development

Inside Out – Churches of Christ in South Australia Pastors Day

Emotional and Social Intelligence is a critical issue in Pastoral Leadership.  I enjoyed spending the day in Adelaide reflecting on this subject with a group of Churches of Christ pastors at Magill.  We explored the Emotional and Social Intelligence framework and sought to apply some of the insights to issues in ministry leadership.  A church scenario was used to earth the training in typical relational issues in churches.  We concluded with some reflections on mentoring and team covenants.  Links to notes are listed below.

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Baptist Churches of NSW and ACT – Church Consultancy Training Workshop 8

Workshop 8 in our Church Consultancy Training program covered the second part of the basic unit on Congregational Recovery.  We worked our way through a case study looking at the issues involved, process in crisis management, the recovery phase and processes of restoration.

Links to files will be made available through dropbox.  I will send a notification to all team members when the links are uploaded.

Parish Recovery Consultancy Training – Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney Workshop 5

I appreciated the opportunity to work with the Diocese of Sydney Parish Recovery Teams today for Workshop 5 of our Training Program on Recovery.  We looked at two current consultancies and continued training and resourcing on the Recovery and Restoration phases of consultation.

All the training files are now linked through dropbox.  I sent out the invitations following training and most consultants should now be able to access training materials.