Creating Safe and Sacred Places

Your ministry with young people begins by building relationships that include appropriate boundaries. Creating Safe and Sacred Places is the first resource of its kind in response to The Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth (issued by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops). The charter calls, in part, for dioceses, schools, and parishes to establish "safe environment" programs.

Creating Safe and Sacred Places is written by an expert in the field of sexual abuse and by a veteran youth minister. The manual provides information on procedures and strategies to promote a safe environment, including material for training parents, ministers, educators, and church personnel in identifying, preventing, and healing sexual abuse.

Creating Safe and Sacred Places for Young Adolescents was written in response to the ever-growing need to educate young adolescents (grades five to eight) in the prevention of sexual abuse. The manual includes three 60-minute educational sessions for fifth- and sixth-graders, as well as three 60-minute sessions for seventh- and eighth-graders.