The safeguarding of children and adults is an integral part of the life and ministry of the Catholic Church and flows from the gospel. 

The Church believes every person has value and dignity which derives directly from their creation in the image and likeness of God. This implies a duty to value all people and protect them from harm. Children and vulnerable adults were welcome and safe in the company of Jesus and should be welcome and safe in his Church.

As Missio Aotearoa and MissioNZ are both Catholic entities, they also have to meet the requirements of the Church’s National Safeguarding policy. As an organisation, and two charities, our commitment is to create and maintain an environment where proactive steps are taken to make our community a safe place for all, especially children and the vulnerable. Policies and practices are in place to reduce risk and promote transparency.

The “Guidelines for the prevention of and response to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand – The Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand“ prescribes the commitment of the Church to have safeguarding measures in place in our organisations.

The expectation is that all priests, staff and volunteers associated with the organisation have completed safeguarding and those involved with children and vulnerable adults are police vetted.To find out more please visit the Christchurch Diocese Safeguarding Website www.cdocsafeguarding.nz or the National office for Professional Standards https://safeguarding.catholic.org.nz/ If you have a safeguarding issue you wish to speak with someone in confidence about – please contact the Safeguarding Officer of your Diocese: https://safeguarding.catholic.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2020/03/Diocesan-safeguarding-officers-1-5.pdf