Training on the prevention of violence against children for the clergy of the Lviv Archeparchy of the UGCC

Already 14 of the 15 archdioceses of the UGCC have completed one-day training on the prevention of violence against minors and vulnerable persons in the church. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is the first among all denominations in Ukraine to have a security policy document, Norms and Principles for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons in the Pastoral Activities of the UGCC, which each diocese and parish is obliged to follow in its activities.

"Children need protection, and adults need to protect them. Children should feel safe at home, in kindergarten, school, medical institutions and, of course, in church. If an offense has occurred, responsible adults know how to help, where to refer, and how to protect the child in the future. After all, a child can turn to any adult for protection - a teacher, doctor, priest, so you should be prepared and understand the limits of your own responsibility, which relevant services to contact and be on the child's side," said Ivanka Rudakevych, project and program manager of the UCU Center for Child Dignity, at a training for 250 priests of the Lviv Archeparchy of the UGCC at the Lviv Theological Seminary of the Holy Spirit.

Working with the Church has been a priority since the founding of the Center for Child Dignity. The resolution to establish it at the Ukrainian Catholic University came from the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC in 2019.

The UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child, as part of the project "Training for Dioceses," conducts seminars for clergy in (arch)eparchies and exarchates of the UGCC on the prevention of violence against minors and vulnerable persons.

Ivanka Rudakevych and hieromonk-psychologist Sava Masnyk talked about how to prevent violence against children. They discussed the church's experience in preventing violence, the main documents that guide the church in protecting minors and vulnerable people. The priests heard about the types of violence, as well as the mechanisms for responding to cases of sexual abuse that occurred in the church, the algorithms for action after a report, and learned about the preliminary church investigation.

The fathers learned how the experience of abuse affects their lives, how to recognize a child who is being abused, how to talk to victims, and received basic recommendations for conducting such conversations and where to refer victims. Additionally, Ivanka Rudakevych familiarized the participants with the possibilities of formations from the UCU Center for the Dignity of the Child.

We are grateful to the leadership of the archdiocese for their cooperation and initiative, and to the fathers for their active participation.

We also offer training opportunities and resources for church representatives on our website.