Legalities to be examined
Catholics are often surprised to learn that the U.S. Constitution
doesn't always apply to them.
"There are no constitutional rights in a parish," said Sister Mary Angela Shaughnessy, SCN, a canon lawyer. "The Church is a private institution, and can make rules and regulations on what people can say."
A professor of education and university legal counsel at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, she will discuss the legal aspects of religious education and youth ministry at an upcoming in-service sponsored by the Albany diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.
Rights?
Sister Mary Angela said that volunteer catechists who believe that women should be ordained are not entitled to share that view while serving as catechists. Rather, they must present official Church teaching.
Young people may be surprised to learn that they have no legal right to receive sacraments.
"There is no legal right to be confirmed if the individual does not meet the specified requirements," she noted.
Volunteers
Parish religious education programs that rely on volunteer catechists have specific legal concerns, she said. Screening and training of volunteers is critical to protecting young people in the program, as well as protecting parish staff from lawsuits, she said.
"A lot of times, parishes don't screen [volunteers]," Sister Mary Angela explained. "They're a member of the parish, so we just throw the person in there."
Background checks
Ideally, the nun continued, parishes would fingerprint volunteers as well as do background checks prior to allowing a person to serve as a catechist.
Often, that is not possible, so it is important to have volunteers fill out a form and provide references, she advised. Then the parish must check the references.
The parish must also provide training to catechists in order to insure that they know what they are teaching and appropriate leadership behavior.
Legal training
Adults volunteering in parish catechetical programs need to have training on confidentiality, Sister Mary Angela said. While volunteers may believe they should not violate a young person's confidence, there are times when adults have legal responsibilities to get assistance for the young person.
For example, she said, if a young person shared with catechists feelings of suicide or other self-damage, or told of physical or sexual abuse, catechists must share the information with their supervisor in the parish program.
Sister Mary Angela said the legalities involved in parish ministry can seem overwhelming.
"I cover all of the ways you can get sued or go to jail," she said of her workshops. When people attend her lectures, "I know they are thinking, 'Is it too late for me to go into real estate?' But if God has called us to ministry, we must be faithful."
Training
The canon lawyer said that one of the most important things Church leaders can do is provide training to volunteers, who bring with them their knowledge from their professional careers, which may not apply to Church ministry.
Some of the issues Sister Mary Angela will speak about include supervision, building safety, chaperoning, health issues and abuse.
("Religious Education, Youth Ministry and the Law" will be held Oct. 10, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption parish in Latham. Registration is required by Oct. 1. Admission is $25. Contact the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis at 453-6630. The in-service is open to catechetical and youth ministry leadership, pastors, associate pastors, parish life directors, and school principals.)