The Passionists of Holy Cross Province
660 Busse Highway, Park Ridge, IL 60068 tel 847 518 8844 web passionist.org
Provincial Superior
A Message from Fr. David Colhour, C.P., Provincial Superior:
The Passionists are committed to prevention, accountability, healing and reconciliation.
Religious communities and institutes for consecrated life, as with all Church organizations, must ensure that children and young people who worship, study or participate in activities sponsored by our communities do so in the safest and most secure setting possible and proactively ensure that those who have abused are prevented from causing further harm to others.
The Passionists have worked with the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) to promote the protection of minors in men's religious communities and have partnered with Praesidium, Inc. This has resulted in national standards for safeguarding by men's religious institutes; a National Advisory Council of recognized experts to advise CMSM; and continuing education.
CMSM is the national organization for U.S. leaders of Roman Catholic men’s religious institutes, monastic communities, and societies of apostolic life. As the common voice for the leaders of these organizations, CMSM promotes dialogue and collaboration in service to over 16,000 religious priests and brothers in the United States.
Praesidium, Inc. is the national leader in abuse risk management and provides accreditation for religious orders. The Passionists of Holy Cross Province have been awarded Praesidium, Inc. Accreditation. ™ In a reassuring report by Praesidium, Inc., Holy Cross Province was found to be following the highest current national standards for protecting children, earning high honors in abuse prevention policies, practices and response.
The Passionists stand in solidarity with those who were abused. We renew our personal and organizational commitment to do all that we can to keep young people in our own ministries safe, now and into the future.
We affirm our commitment to the protection of young people, to creating safe environments where young people flourish as children of God and people of faith.
We pledge to continue to implement child safety education, background checks, reporting, and external reviews of our child protection efforts. To this end, we will continue to collaborate with CMSM and Praesidium, Inc. on implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Young People and to be vigilant in the screening and formation of applicants for the priesthood and religious life.
We pray for the healing of survivors of abuse and their families. May they in time discover a sense of inner peace and stability and be able to move forward in their lives.
Let us keep each other in prayer,
Fr. David Colhour, C.P.
Provincial Superior
