The documents which follow this introduction are legal
and cautionary. When we first read the Codes for Pastoral
Conduct, we were concerned about how individuals who
consecrate their lives or dedicate their free time to the
promotion of the Gospel might feel about the Codes, for Paul
writes in 2 Corinthians 3.6: “Not that of ourselves we are
qualified to take credit for anything as coming from us;
rather, our qualification comes from God, who has indeed
qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but
of spirit; for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives
life.”
We, like you, are concerned about
“life.” Pope John Paul II writes in Evangelium vitae
, 4:79:
The life of
our mission is well known to us. Recent events have made it
necessary to facilitate civil expectations about personal
conduct connected to our programs and structures and that is
what the Code of Pastoral Conduct does. It states
realities of dealing with individuals and groups and
enunciates clearly and unequivocally what past practice has
had to highlight, reject, and warn against. As such, the
Code
is important and to be heeded as much as we need to heed our
call to be a service to the life of the Gospel and the Church.
Our concern is
to have you know how much we support and encourage your
pastoral work and how we feel this Code of Pastoral
Conduct
helps in your work. We endorse and pray
for the success of your service to the Gospel in all sectors
of our Christian community.
Priests, deacons, and pastoral ministers in our parishes
(hereafter referred to as clergy and pastoral ministers) must
uphold Christian values and conduct. The Code of Pastoral
Conduct provides a set of standards for conduct in certain
pastoral situations.
The public and private conduct of clergy and pastoral
ministers can inspire and motivate people, but it can also
scandalize and undermine the people’s faith. Clergy and
pastoral ministers must, at all times, be aware of the
responsibilities that accompany their work. They must also
know that God’s goodness and grace supports them in their
ministry.
Responsibility for adherence to the Code of Pastoral
Conduct rests with the individual. Clergy and pastoral
ministers who disregard this Code of Pastoral Conduct will be
subject to remedial action by the parish, agency and/or
Diocese. Corrective action may take various forms—from a
verbal reproach to removal from the ministry—depending on the
specific nature and circumstances of the offense and the
extent of the harm.
This Code of Pastoral Conduct shall apply to all clergy and
pastoral ministers in the Diocese of Brooklyn. While
certain sections of this Code of Pastoral Conduct are directed
specifically toward Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual
Directors (Section 5), it is to be noted that many of the
directives found there are also applicable to others involved
in pastoral service who attempt to offer assistance even
outside the relationship of spiritual direction or pastoral
counseling. The same standards involving competence (5.1),
pre-existing relationship (5.2), audiotape or videotape (5.3),
sexual intimacy (5.4 and 5.5), physical contact (5.7), and
appropriate setting (5.8) apply.
1.1. Clergy and pastoral ministers must be aware of
their own and others’ vulnerability when working alone with
youth. Use a team approach to managing youth activities.
1.2. Physical contact with youth can be misconstrued
and should occur (a) only when completely nonsexual and
otherwise appropriate, and (b) ordinarily not in private.
1.3. Clergy and pastoral ministers should refrain from
(a) the illegal possession and/or illegal use of drugs and/or
alcohol at all times, and (b) the use of alcohol when working
with youth.
1.4. Clergy should not allow individual young people
to stay overnight in the cleric’s private accommodations or
residence.
1.5. Staff and volunteers should not provide shared,
private, overnight accommodation for individual young people
including, but not limited to, accommodations in any Church
owned facility, private residence, hotel room, or any other
place where there is no other adult supervision present.
1.5.1. In rare, emergency situations, when
accommodation is necessary for the health and well being of
the youth, the clergy, staff, or volunteer should take
extraordinary care to protect all parties from the appearance
of impropriety and from all risk of harm.
1.5.2. Use
a team approach to managing emergency situations.
2. Sexual
Conduct
Clergy and pastoral
ministers must not, for sexual gain or intimacy,
exploit the trust placed in them by the
faith community.
2.1. Clergy and pastoral ministers are called to be
examples of the virtue of
chastity, as appropriate to their state of life, in all
relationships at all times, which for celibate clerics and
those in consecrated life includes the observance of “perfect
and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of
heaven.” (cf. canons 277, 599).
2.2. Clergy and pastoral ministers who provide
pastoral counseling or spiritual direction services must avoid
developing inappropriately intimate relationships with minors,
other staff, or parishioners.
2.3. No clergy or pastoral minister may exploit
another person for sexual purposes.
2.4. Allegations of sexual misconduct should be taken
seriously and reported to the immediate superior in the Church
and to civil authorities if the situation involves a minor.
Diocesan procedures will be followed to protect the rights of
all involved.
2.5. Allegations regarding sexual misconduct of a
priest with someone who is a child or who is now an adult
should be advised to call the Brooklyn Diocesan reporting line
at 1-888-634-4499.
2.6. Clergy and pastoral ministers should review and
know the contents of the child abuse regulations and reporting
requirements for the State of New York and should follow those
mandates.
3. Harassment
Clergy and pastoral ministers must not
engage in physical, psychological, written, or verbal
harassment of staff, volunteers, or parishioners and must not
tolerate such harassment by other Church staff or volunteers.
3.1. Clergy and pastoral ministers shall provide a
professional work environment that is free from physical,
psychological, written, or verbal intimidation or
harassment.
3.2. Harassment encompasses a broad range
of physical, written, or verbal behavior, including, without
limitation, the following:
• Physical or mental
abuse.
• Racial insults.
• Derogatory ethnic
slurs.
• Unwelcome sexual advances or
touching.
• Sexual comments or sexual
jokes.
• Requests for sexual favors used as: a
condition of employment, or to affect other personnel
decisions, such as promotion or
compensation.
• Display of offensive materials.
3.3. Harassment can be a single severe incident or a
persistent pattern of behavior where the purpose or the effect
is to create a hostile, offensive, or intimidating work
environment.
3.4. Allegations of harassment should be taken
seriously and reported immediately to the appropriate
supervisor. Diocesan procedures will be followed to protect
the rights of all involved.
4. Parish, Agency and Diocesan Records and
Information
Confidentiality will be maintained in creating,
storing, accessing, transferring, and disposing of parish,
religious community/institute, or organizational records.
4.1. Sacramental records shall be regarded as
confidential. When compiling and publishing parish, religious
community/institute, or organization statistical information
from these records, great care must be taken to preserve the
anonymity of individuals.
4.1.1. Subject to pertinent law or court order,
information regarding adoption and legitimacy remains
confidential, regardless of age.
4.1.2. Only staff
members who are authorized to access the records and supervise
their use shall handle requests for more recent records.
4.1.3. Pastors and Administrators should designate
the specific persons who have access to sacramental records
and other records of the parish or agency.
4.2. Parish, religious community/institute, or
organization financial records are confidential unless review
is required by the Diocese or by an appropriate government
agency. Contact the Finance Department (718-965-7300) upon
receipt of any request for release of financial records.
4.3. Individual contribution records of the parish,
religious community/institute, or organization shall be
regarded as private and shall be maintained in strictest
confidence.
5. Conduct for
Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors
Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors must
respect the rights and advance the welfare of each person.
5.1. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors shall
not step beyond their
competence in counseling situations
and shall refer clients to
other professionals when
appropriate.
5.2. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual
Directors should carefully consider
the possible consequences before entering into a counseling or
spiritual direction relationship with someone with whom they
have a pre-existing relationship or over whom they have
supervisory or evaluative control (i.e., employee,
professional colleague, friend, or other pre-existing
relationship). [See Section 7.2.2]
5.3. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors
should not audiotape or videotape sessions.
5.4. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors must
never engage in sexual intimacies with the persons they
counsel or direct. This includes consensual and nonconsensual
contact, forced physical contact, and inappropriate sexual
comments.
5.5. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors shall
not engage in sexual intimacies with individuals who are close
to the client—such as relatives or friends of the client—when
there is a risk of exploitation or potential harm to the
client. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors should
presume that the potential for exploitation or harm exists in
such intimate relationships.
5.6. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors
assume the full burden of responsibility for establishing and
maintaining clear, appropriate boundaries in all counseling
and counseling-related relationships.
5.7. Physical contact of any kind (i.e., touching,
hugging, holding) between Pastoral Counselors or Spiritual
Directors and the persons they counsel or direct can be
misconstrued and should be avoided.
5.8. Sessions should be conducted in appropriate
settings at appropriate times.
5.8.1. No sessions should be conducted in private
living quarters.
5.8.2. Sessions should not be held at
places or times that would tend to cause confusion about the
nature of the relationship for the person being counseled.
5.9. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors shall
maintain a log of the times and places of sessions with each
person being counseled or directed. They must maintain
appropriate confidentiality in creating, storing, accessing
and disposing of such logs.
6. Confidentiality
Information disclosed to a
Pastoral Counselor or Spiritual Director during the
course of counseling, advising, or spiritual
direction shall be held in the strictest confidence
possible.
6.1. Information obtained in the course of sessions
shall be confidential, except for compelling professional
reasons or as required by law.
6.1.1. If there is clear and imminent danger to the
client or to others, the Pastoral Counselor or Spiritual
Director may disclose only the information necessary to
protect the parties affected and to prevent harm.
6.1.2. Before disclosure is made, if feasible, the
Pastoral Counselor or Spiritual Director should inform the
person being counseled about the disclosure and the potential
consequences.
6.2. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors
should discuss the nature of confidentiality and its
limitations with each person in counseling or direction.
6.3. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors
should keep minimal confidential records of the content of
sessions.
6.4. Knowledge that arises from professional contact
may be used in teaching, writing, homilies, or other public
presentations only when effective measures are taken to
absolutely safeguard both the individual’s identity and the
confidentiality of the disclosures.
6.5. While counseling a minor, if a Pastoral Counselor
or Spiritual Director discovers that there is a serious threat
to the welfare of the minor and that communication of
confidential information to a parent or legal guardian is
essential to the child’s health and well-being, the Counselor
or Spiritual Director should:
• Attempt to secure written consent from the minor for
the specific disclosure.
• If consent is not given,
disclose only the information necessary to protect the health
and well being of the minor.
• Consultation with the
appropriate Church supervisory personnel is required before
disclosure.
These obligations are independent of the confidentiality of
the confessional. Under no circumstances whatsoever can there
be any disclosure—even indirect disclosure—of information
received through the confessional.
7. Conflicts of
Interest
Clergy and pastoral
ministers should avoid situations that might present a
conflict of interest. Even the appearance of a conflict of
interest can call integrity and professional conduct into
question.
7.1. Clergy and pastoral ministers should disclose all
relevant factors that potentially could create a conflict of
interest.
7.2. Clergy and pastoral ministers should inform all
parties when a real or potential conflict of interest arises.
Resolution of the issues must protect the person receiving
ministry services.
7.2.1. No clergy or pastoral minister should take
advantage of anyone to whom they are providing services in
order to further their personal, religious, political, or
business interests.
7.2.2. Pastoral counselors should
not provide counseling services to anyone with whom they have
a business, professional, or social relationship. When this is
unavoidable, the client must be protected. The counselor must
establish and maintain clear, appropriate
boundaries.
7.2.3. When pastoral counseling or
spiritual direction services are
provided to two or more people who have a relationship with
each other, the Pastoral Counselor or Spiritual Director must:
• Clarify with all parties the nature of each
relationship
• Anticipate any conflict of interest;
• Take appropriate actions to eliminate the conflict;
and
• Obtain from all parties written consent to
continue services.
7.2.4. Conflicts of interest may also arise when a
Pastoral Counselor’s or Spiritual Director’s independent
judgment is impaired by:
• Prior
dealings;
• Becoming personally involved;
or
• Becoming an advocate for one (person) against
another.
In these circumstances, the Pastoral Counselor or Spiritual
Director shall advise the parties that he or she can no longer
provide services and refer them to another Pastoral Counselor
or Spiritual Director.
8. Reporting Ethical or Professional Misconduct
Clergy
and pastoral ministers have a duty to report their own ethical
or professional misconduct and the misconduct of others.
8.1. Clergy and pastoral ministers must hold each
other accountable for maintaining the highest ethical and
professional standards.
8.2. When an uncertainty exists about whether a
situation or course of conduct violates this Code of Pastoral
Conduct or other religious, moral, or ethical principles,
consult with:
• Peers
• Others knowledgeable about ethical
issues
8.3. When it appears that a member of the clergy or pastoral
minister has violated this Code of Pastoral Conduct or other
religious, moral, or ethical principles, report the issue to a
supervisor or next higher authority.
9. Administration
Clergy and pastoral ministers shall be
treated justly in the day-to-day administrative operations of
their ministries.
9.1. Personnel and other administrative decisions made
by clergy and pastoral ministers shall meet civil and canon
law obligations and reflect Catholic social teachings and this
Code of Pastoral Conduct.
9.2. No clergy or pastoral minister shall use his or
her position to exercise unreasonable or inappropriate power
and authority.
9.3. Each priest, deacon and pastoral minister
providing service to children and youth must read this Code of
Pastoral Conduct, sign the Acknowledgment Form, and return it
to the designated office, before providing services.
10. Internet
All members of the clergy and
pastoral ministers will use Internet and
on-line services in an appropriate
manner consistent with the mission of the Catholic Church and
their ministry in particular.
10.1. No member of the clergy will interact with
children or young people through e-mail except for delivering
information for the program I am providing.
10.2. No member of the clergy will assist children or
young people to access pornography or other sexual
material online or influence their exploration of pornography
through any media outlet.
10.3. No member of the clergy
will use parish, school, or any agency computers to
participate in chat rooms.
10.4. No member of the clergy
will photograph children or young people without the
explicit permission of the parents or legal
guardians.
