March 2021

By Renae Kranz In April each year, we observe Child Abuse Prevention Month nationally. The Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages every diocese to use this month to bring greater awareness and focus to the protection of children. In our own diocese, the Office of Safe Environment takes this month to collaborate with mental health practices and school systems to promote child abuse awareness and to highlight ways they currently provide safer environments for children throughout the diocese. Alison Conemac, safe environment coordinator for the Diocese of Sioux Falls, oversees the training implemented by the diocese within all programs related to children, minors and the vulnerable. The training highlights signs and symptoms of abuse, predator behavior and ways to respond to disclosures of abuse. The training equips people with…

By Chris Motz, executive director of the South Dakota Catholic Conference “To refuse to take part in committing an injustice is not only a moral duty; it is also a basic human right.” Pope St. John Paul II wrote these words 26 years ago this month in his great pro-life encyclical, “Evangelium Vitae” (The Gospel of Life). He’s referring to what is called conscientious objection. John Paul specifically explains this basic human right as being of fundamental importance for those working in health care when he goes on to teach, “What is at stake therefore is an essential right which, precisely as such, should be acknowledged and protected by civil law. In this sense, the opportunity to refuse to take part in the phases of consultation, preparation and execution of…