Child abuse remains a national problem.  According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services there were 905,000 reported child abuse victims in 2006 alone.  Imagine if a disease claimed that many young lives.  What would be our national response?  Abuse, even if is not fatal, robs a life and damages a child’s spirit.  It changes who that person is on a fundamental level.

A hallmark of the Catholic Church is the protection of life and dignity of the human person.  Through scripture and Catholic teachings, we are called to protect the life and dignity of all human persons no matter how young or old.  Working to prevent child abuse is an important response of what we are called to do as Church.

The following resources have been collected to assist anyone who may have the care, responsibility, and or supervision of a child, youth, or vulnerable adult.

• An Adult Who Goes Overboard in Touching Children
• Meaningful Connections
• Nature and Scope
• Can Child Protection Efforts Go Too Far?
• Using Everything Possible
• Learn about Social Networking from the Experts – Teenagers
• Catholic Mutual Group Courses
• USCCB Resources – Posters, liturgical guides, bulletin announcements, and articles on Church efforts to reach out to abuse victims and to protect victims. Material may be downloaded for local use.