While the church and community in Newcastle await the Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Case Study 42), there is a lot of ground work to do preparing a team of facilitators and consultants to work with parishes and organisations impacted by the expected findings of the commission. The Diocese under the interim leadership of Bishop Peter Stuart has welcomed the Commission and while it is a painful process, has sought to respond carefully and pastorally to victims, parishes and clergy impacted by the past. There are many good people, caring parishes and faithful clergy who are deeply hurt by what has occurred historically in Newcastle. Alongside the direct victims of abuse, these also need support and care. We had a day of training for facilitators and consultants yesterday in preparation for the RC findings.
We covered Recovery Processes in Current Situations, Facilitating Emotional Responses of Participants, A Plan for Responding to the RC Findings and a workshop on Boundaries.
Notes, presentations and handouts have been updated in our team dropbox.