Words are sometimes overrated. By contrast, actions aregenerally a reliable measure of reality. And thosetruths have VIRTUS® developers and participantssmiling from coast to coast as we consider some early success inthe field testing of the Protecting God’s Children videos.

“They’re extraordinary and they are informative,” said theMost Reverend Gregory Aymond, Bishop of the Diocese ofAustin, Texas, referring to the two awareness videos producedby National Catholic as a part of the VIRTUS® program. “Theyare very direct in talking about the mind and heart of the perpe-trator and in calling us to recognize—at a deeper level—themind and heart of the victims.”

Bishop Aymond is not alone in his assessment. When wordabout the training and videos spread, thousands of people cameforward to participate—numbers that have far exceeded expecta-tions. Sister Thecla Cain, Chancellor of the Diocese of Austin,said the first presentation was for several dozen priests. Theirenthusiasm apparently caught fire. Approximately 750 peopleattended the first public viewing that soon followed. Since then,audiences have remained very large, with several presentationsto 650 or more people, including one viewing with more than1,200 present. In coming months, the Diocese will train trainers.The trainers will then offer the written and video training at the

parish level—to all new employees and volunteers, and to any-one else who’s interested.

Why is the enthusiasm so great? Bishop Aymond said he seestwo major factors. First is the quality of the content—a frankand concise presentation of the dynamics of child sexual abuse,including a discussion of warning signs and steps that anyonecan take to help prevent abuse. Bishop Aymond said he’sreceived verbal and written comments from priests, religious,and laity alike, remarking on the insightful content of the videosand expressing appreciation at having the opportunity to learnabout and publicly discuss such important issues.

The second success factor is the way the Diocese is present-ing the videos—as an integral part of a larger risk managementeffort. The Diocese is using the videos to supplement training on a new, comprehensive prevention policy. And nobody isallowed to view the videos without participating in the overalltraining program.

Bishop Aymond said, “The videos have to be presented bysomeone who can also answer questions and generate discus-sion—someone who understands child sexual abuse.” UsingAustin as a starting point, presenters are collecting questions,comments and other feedback to use in developing written materials to accompany the videos. In the near future, NationalCatholic will offer a VIRTUS® train-the-trainer program for dioceses that are implementing components of the VIRTUS®

program. National Catholic intends to train many trainers—allover the country—so every Catholic community can have directaccess to these powerful risk management tools.

The Diocese of Austin is utilizing the flexibility that programdevelopers purposefully designed in VIRTUS®. When BishopAymond arrived in Austin, the Diocese already had a preventionpolicy. Administrators of the Diocese were working toward theimplementation of background checks for employees and volun-teers. Bishop Aymond said, “The more I listened to that, themore I realized that if we’d educate people and ask them to bewith us on a level of Christian ethics and integrity, then we’d notonly have a reason for the background checks but, more impor-tantly, we’d be calling people to a level of integrity and account-ability that we didn’t have before.”

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VIRTUS® videos provide powerful messageVIRTUS® is the program of National Catholic designed to strengthen

communities through awareness, education, and training.

Published by The National Catholic Risk Retention Group, Inc. • Volume 3, Number 4 • November 2001

COMMUNICARECOMMUNICARE™

Philip J. Lazarus, Ph.D.

The violence that affects our com-munities has found its waythrough the schoolhouse door.Recent, highly publicized acts ofschool violence committed by troubledyouths have shaken our belief that ourschools are safe. With reports that bul-lying, hazing, and other forms of vio-lence remain at significant levels, wemust take strong, positive steps to safe-guard the physical, emotional, andmental well being of our children.

Fortunately, current statistics sug-gest that the odds of a student dying in school, by homicide or suicide, areless than one in a million. In fact,reports suggest that lightning is threetimes more likely to kill a child thanschool violence. And less than one percent of student deaths altogetheroccur in schools—even though onedeath is too many. The sad truth is that far more young people die in ourcommunities or homes—although thesituation often first arises or otherwisedevelops in school.

Prevention of child violence requiresmore than just preventing school vio-lence. It requires a broad societal effortwhere all stakeholders in schools,churches, homes, and communitiesacknowledge the problem and worktogether to find solutions. In particular,Catholic schools are called to modelacademic excellence and faith develop-ment and to create a supportive andchallenging atmosphere that affirms thedignity of all people in the school com-munity. VIRTUS® is committed tomaking our schools as safe as possiblewhile on their educational quest so thatteachers can teach and students canlearn. All schools must have the latestknowledge about preventing schoolviolence, as well as the necessaryresources, tools and support to make it happen.

One way to make schools safer isfor all stakeholders to have an under-standing of the characteristics of aschool that is safe and responsive to

every child. In response to the tragicschool shootings over the past fewyears, a document entitled, EarlyWarning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools, was distributed toevery school in this nation. Early Warning, Timely Response: AGuide to Safe Schools was developedby the Center for Effective Collabo-ration and Practice of the AmericanInstitute for Research, in collabora-tion with the National Association of School Psychologists.

This Guide addresses the essen-tial characteristics of well-functioning,effective schools. Safe and respon-sive schools:

1. Focus on academic achievement.Effective schools communicate clearly that all children can achieveacademically and behave appropri-ately. Adequate resources are made available and individual differences are respected.

2. Involve families in meaningful ways. When families are involved in the growth of their children, stu-dents are more likely to experienceschool success. Schools need to makeevery effort to have parents feel wel-come, remove barriers to participa-tion, and keep families engaged in their children’s education.

Page 2, Communicare™ November 2001

Characteristics of Safe and Responsive Schools

3. Develop links to the community.Effective schools have close ties tofamilies, faith communities, supportservices, and community organizationsand make it a priority to develop mean-ingful connections.

4. Emphasize positive relationshipsamong students and staff. A criticalfactor in preventing school violence isthe development of a positive relation-ship between an adult and a child atrisk. Effective schools also fosterencouraging and supportive relation-ships among students.

5. Discuss safety issues openly. Schoolscan make an effective difference byteaching about the dangers of firearms,as well as how students can manageangry feelings appropriately andresolve conflicts constructively.

6. Treat students with equal respect.Effective schools communicate that all students are valued and respected. A major source of conflict in schools is that students may perceive that they are being treated unfairly due to race,gender, religion, socioeconomic status,disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation,athletic ability, physical appearance orsome other factor. Effective schoolsrespect diversity and demonstrate asense of concern and community.

7. Create ways for students to sharetheir concerns. Students are usually the first ones to know about bullying,harassment, assault, and potentialschool shootings. A reporting systemmust ensure that students have theopportunity to report behaviors thatlead to school violence and that stu-dents are protected from reprisals.

8. Help children feel safe expressingtheir feelings. Children need caringschool staff to whom they can expresstheir needs, anxieties, and concerns.When children feel disconnected from school staff, the potential for violence increases.

9. Have a procedure in place for report-ing children who potentially are abusedor neglected. Schools must establishstaff guidelines and procedures consis-tent with state and federal laws that are

designed to protect the well-being of children.

10. Offer extended-day programs forchildren. School-based before- andafter-care programs can reduce vio-lence. These programs offer a numberof options and activities, such as mentoring, tutoring, assistance withhomework, computer access, sports,counseling, and community service.

11. Promote good citizenship and char-acter. Schools must help studentsbecome productive citizens. They rein-force shared values of their local com-munity, such as respect for others,kindness, honesty, and responsibility.Moreover, they stand for the civic val-ues set forth in our Constitution andBill of Rights. Effective schools alsoacknowledge that parents are the pri-mary moral educators of their childrenand work in partnership with them.

12. Identify problems and assessprogress toward solutions. Safe schoolscontinually examine circumstanceswhere students may feel threatened orintimidated. They openly share thisinformation with students, families, and the community and work togetherto create solutions.

13. Support students in making thetransition to adult life and the work-place. Effective schools can providestudents with work-study programs,apprenticeships, and community ser-vice that will help prepare them for the years ahead.

The most promising prevention andintervention programs involve theentire community working together to form positive relationships with stu-dents so that all children feel included.If we understand the characteristics ofsafe schools, the conditions that lead toviolence, and the types of support thatare necessary to prevent violence, wecan make our schools safer.

This article discussed the character-istics of safe and responsive schools. Inthe next issue of COMMUNICARE™,a VIRTUS® action plan will be present-ed on how to make schools safer.

Philip J. Lazarus, Ph.D., serves as chairperson ofthe National Emergency Assistance Team of theNational Association of School Psychologists.Members of NEAT have lead crisis response teamsafter the tragic school killings in West Paducah,Kentucky; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Edinboro,Pennsylvania; Springfield, Oregon; Littleton,Colorado; Flint, Michigan; Lake Worth, Florida;Santee, California; and El Cajon, California. Dr.Lazarus is an associate professor and director ofthe School Psychology Training Program at FloridaInternational University in Miami, Florida. He isco-editor of the upcoming text, Best Practices inSchool Crisis Prevention and Intervention. Readmore about Dr. Lazarus on the VIRTUS® website:www.virtus.org.

Page 3, Communicare™ November 2001

COMMUNICARE ™Copyright © 2001 by The National Catholic RiskRetention Group, Inc. (National Catholic), P.O.Box 3197, Lisle, IL 60532, 1-630-725-0986. Allrights reserved. COMMUNICARE™ is publishedfour times per year. Photocopying or transfer-ring this document in whole or in part is a vio-lation of federal copyright law and is strictlyprohibited without the express written consentof National Catholic. National Catholic pro-vides neither spiritual solutions to individualproblems nor legal advice to its clients.Readers should seek the advice of a spiritualdirector or attorney regarding individual ques-tions or legal advice. 11/01

Please provide comments, questions or other feedback to Mary Gross:

Fax: 1-630-725-1374

Phone (toll-free): 1-877-486-2774

Email: virtus@nationalcatholicsvcs.org

Or visit our websites: www.nationalcatholic.org

and www.virtus.org

(continued from page 1)

So, Bishop Aymond expanded boththe mission and makeup of the core com-mittee. The committee’s objective was todevelop a comprehensive prevention pol-icy, including mandatory backgroundchecks of all employees and volun-teers—with an emphasis on those whowork with children and vulnerable adults.The committee developed the new policy,established an effective date approxi-mately five months in the future, andembarked on a rigorous campaign to pre-sent both the policy and the ProtectingGod’s Children awareness videos to asmany diocesan employees and volunteersas possible.

Sr. Cain said the Diocese uses weekly electronic newsletters, lettersfrom the Bishop to parish departmentheads, and word of mouth to promote the mandatory training sessions. The ini-tial objective was to train priests. Priestsplay a critical role in the outreach. “Butprobably our greatest asset is that BishopAymond is so interested in having peopleparticipate,” Sr. Cain said.

So, why is Bishop Aymond so inter-ested in sharing this message? “I could

not imagine our Diocese without thisprogram,” he said. “It has brought us toanother level of professionalism in man-aging the way we conduct our ministry.”

“The Catholic Church stands strongfor respect for human life. This programis another way in which we can upholda very, very strong respect for humanlife—of the born—of our precious gifts of children. I think we, in a sense,owe it to the people of the CatholicChurch—to give them an opportunity to learn about these issues and to helpprevent abuse within our communities.”

These are sincere and powerfulwords from a powerful Church leader.And the Diocese of Austin is provingthat actions are a reliable indicator ofreality. In this case, the Protecting God’s Children videos really are a powerful tool available to dioceses to integrate into their own, individualprevention programs.

For more information on theProtecting God’s Children videos, or any other components of theVIRTUS® program, call Mike Bemi at 1-877-486-2774, or send email to virtus@nationalcatholicsvcs.org.

VIRTUS® videos provide powerful messageVIRTUS® Development Team

The Board of Managers of National Catholic,LLC, oversees the development and imple-mentation of the VIRTUS® program.

Members

Reverend Edward J. ArsenaultDiocese of Manchester

Reverend Jay C. HaskinDiocese of Burlington

Maryellen ConnorDiocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph

Michael J. Bemi, CPCU, ARM, ARePresident and CEOThe National Catholic Risk Retention Group, Inc.

Joseph FrankArchdiocese of Newark

VIRTUS® Steering Committee

National Catholic has invited internationalexperts from a variety of organizations and disciplines to participate in a SteeringCommittee—to provide guidance to the VIRTUS® Development Team.

Members

The Most Reverend Raymond J. Boland, D.D.Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph

Sister Patrice Hughes, S.C.Sisters of Charity, Greensburg, Pennsylvania

Barbara KraftPrice Waterhouse Coopers

Lynn Lowder, Esq., COOColt’s Manufacturing Company, Inc.

Jack McCalmon, J.D.THE AGOS GROUP, LLC

Monsignor Kevin C. McCoy, S.T.D.Pontifical North American College, Vatican State

Reverend Kevin M. McDonough, J.C.D.Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

John PattersonNonprofit Risk Management Center

Carol StantonGlastonbury Abbey

Page 4, Communicare™

Published by The National Catholic Risk Retention Group, Inc. • Volume 3, Number 4• November 2001

COMMUNICARECOMMUNICARE™