Internet porn, predators a threat to children

SAVANNAH, Ga. (The Southern Cross) - In recent years, parental concern regarding pornography has shifted from television to the Internet. Bishop J. Kevin Boland has been very clear in his directives that he recognizes the potential sexual abuse dangers posed by the Internet, and that the Diocese of Savannah needs to continue to educate the diocesan faithful in this arena.

Consequently, the diocese is stepping up its efforts to help parents protect their children from pornography on the Internet. The diocesan offices of Catholic Schools, Religious Education, Child and Youth Protection and Youth and Young Adult Ministry are working together on strategies, materials and programs that will combat this growing problem.

"Pervasive" is how Sister Rose Mary Collins, Superintendent of Schools, describes the problem of child pornography in today's society. She believes parents have to be more proactive regarding this issue. "Parents have to stay on top of things. They may want to consider getting their own 'MySpace' and 'Facebook' accounts on the Internet. The only way to understand how dangerous these sites are is to go there. No matter how I look at this and many other situations that threaten the safety of our youth, it comes back to family. Children of all ages need guidance and the home is the most important place for educating their spirits and their minds."

Sister Rose Mary stresses "family time, family rules and family support." Simply put, parents have to spend sufficient time with their children, set parameters on what can be done and keep communication lines open in all situations. Collins said diocesan school teachers will get opportunities to participate in conferences and discussions on this issue at their annual staff development conference in February.

Needed: more parental involvement

Ann Pinckney, Director of Religious Education, also believes we need more parental involvement in attacking this problem. "We have to have educational programs for parents to help them recognize the dangers children face on the Internet. Parents have to monitor what their children are viewing on television and the computer monitor." Pinckney said the diocese has strict requirements for those who work with and around children. All personnel who do so must have VIRTUS Training and have a background check. All parishes have access to new resources and materials for use by parents to inform them about the issue of child pornography. Both Pinckney and Sister Collins attended the Promise to Protect Seminar, sponsored by the Catholic Communications Campaign and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. in September to learn the latest information regarding child pornography.

"Child pornography is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide and consumers of child pornography are primarily Americans. The victims are becoming younger," says the U.S. bishops' Promise to Protect program. "It is estimated that 56 percent of the children are pre-pubescent and 3 percent, infants. Sadly, producing child pornography is not even a crime in 95 countries, and its possession is not a crime in 136 countries."

Save Now | 15% Off Jewelry

Stephen B. Williams, who directs the Office for the Protection of Children and Young People, says, "There is no greater potential sexual abuse danger posed to our youth than improper use of the Internet. This includes chat rooms, social networking sites, and the predators who frequent them." With this in mind, Williams has again asked international law enforcement consultant on child pornography, Robert Farley, to make presentations at the Diocesan Education Institute and for the general community, both to be held at Saint James Church in Savannah in February 2008. Farley was well-received at a similar presentation in 2006 in Augusta. Details regarding Farley's up-coming visit to Savannah will be announced in the Southern Cross.

Beware of online dangers

Chuck Frost, diocesan director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, hopes that parents and parish youth groups will use the new PowerPoint presentation on Internet safety that he developed: "We are living in a MySpace age, so to speak, where many youth are forming their identity online. And of course, in process, they can be exposed to information and images that are destructive and often not by choice. To address that issue, I came up with a presentation that teaches parents how to protect their children from online dangers which I've used in a few parishes already." Frost can be contacted at 912- 201-4056 for information on the presentation.

Additional programs, speakers and materials will continue to be screened and assessed by diocesan offices to identify the best possible resources for parishes, schools and homes. Williams stressed the high priority of this issue when he said, "Whatever the final product(s), the diocese is serious about continuing to educate the diocesan faithful on the necessity to be vigilant to the potential sexual abuse dangers of the Internet."

(Editor's note: Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org) offers advice to parents on all manner of media; the page above presents a short video covering social networking online.)

---

Republished by Catholic Online with permission from The Southern Cross (www.diosav.org), the official publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah, Ga.