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Religion is a salient part of cultural competence for mental health clinicians. This paper describes rationales for clinicians to work with a less well-known Catholic clergy: permanent deacons. Demographic, personality structure and religious commitment data from nearly 2,000 deacons support collaboration with clinicians to improve the continuity of mental health care. Guidelines for this work are provided by the Clergy Outreach & Professional Engagement (COPE) model: clergy first support mental health without clinicians, then clergy may need to reach out to clinicians, then clinicians may need to reach out to clergy to provide care salient to persons of religious faith and to help sustain recovery. Deacon examples are provided throughout the paper. Future research is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to examine the life and sport leadership contributions of Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Rose Ann Fleming through the gender-integrative lens of servant-leadership. Guided by Larry Spears' influential rubric of servant-leadership characteristics, which resonates with feminist ways of knowing and is regarded as fundamental to understanding servant-leadership, this inquiry explores how Sister Fleming has concretized servant-leadership through her sport leadership, with particular attention to her three decades of service as the academic advisor to the men's basketball team at Xavier University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Catholic Church in the U.S. has been under concerted public pressure to improve its child protection policies. However, development of these policies has largely been left to the discretion of local dioceses with little central oversight. To determine the scope of current abuse prevention policies, we analyzed all 32 U.S. archdioceses' policies and practices for developing a safe environment and preventing child sexual abuse. Using a tool developed from a list of unique components selected from the policies of all 32 archdioceses, we compared policies and procedures across archdioceses. On a group level, we found policies to be inadequate. The average score for archdioceses in the general area of prevention was 40.7 (SD = 9.3) out of 102 possible points (40% of possible points) with few prevention policies conforming to basic best practices that would be expected of a youth-serving organization. The variation and inconsistencies across archdioceses reveal the need for the Catholic Church to establish more uniform standards for preventing sexual abuse. These standards should be grounded in evidence-based practices and expert guidance. We also discuss some key areas which warrant immediate attention in future policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid considerable public scrutiny, Roman Catholic institutions in the United States have been called upon to address underlying organizational conditions that may facilitate child sex abuse and establish effective policies for early intervention and prevention. The development of child protection policies has largely been left to the discretion of local dioceses with little in the way of central oversight. This study examined the 32 U.S. archdioceses' written policies on child protection and maintaining a safe environment. We found 14 distinct policies spread across the archdioceses which fit into four general categories or domains: (1) Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse; (2) Detection and Reporting of Abuse; (3) Response to Victims; and (4) Investigational Process and Response to Allegations of Abuse. Using a tool developed from a list of unique components selected from the better policies of all 32 archdioceses, we compared policies across archdioceses. On a group level, we found current policies to be inadequate. The average score for all 32 archdioceses was 100.9 out of 250 possible points or 40%. The range was 61 to 137 (SD 20.4). The variation and inconsistencies across multiple archdioceses within the U.S. reveal the need for the Catholic Church to establish evidence-based standards on appropriately and effectively addressing child sexual abuse within its dioceses. These standards should be based on empirically supported best practices and emerging consensus of experts on better practices for youth-serving organizations in relation to child abuse. This article points to parameters for consideration in developing such standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]