Bartimeu Itinerary on protection in the Province of L’Hermitage

During the year 2021, in the Province of L’Hermitage, the Bartimeu Itinerary (in reference to the Gospel “Lord, make him see”) took place, an itinerary on child protection that focused on four stages, focussing on victims, aggressors, the change of institutional culture and the commitment to the development of safe areas. The training was organised by the child protection team of the Province of L’Hermitage and was addressed to Marist Brothers, protection teams, heads of schools and social work and open to those responsible for communication and protection in the Marist Provinces of Europe, who gave a very positive evaluation.

The Itinerary commenced in February and was inaugurated with an address by Brother Provincial, Pere Ferré, saying that “without putting the victims at the centre, there is the risk of not getting to the heart of the matter, or in wishing to implement programmes which are all very well, but which have no soul”.

During the four stages, the speakers, from various backgrounds and experts in different professional fields, provided the participants with an approach to the subject from different perspectives. Thus, they drew up a profile of the abuser and analysed the impact that he can have on children; they analysed the causes and motivations of the triggers of abuse; they reflected on what we can do to help create a culture of child protection in religious institutions, and finally, they shared the Marist Institute’s own experiences on how we are experiencing this change of culture in the different countries and on the role of the protocols and guidelines for the protection of children and young people.

The Bartimeus Itinerary ended on the 25th November with the words of Brother Luis Carlos Gutiérrez, Vicar General of the Marists, who closed the formative process with a reference to the blindness of the person who gives the name to the programme, Bartimeu, and said that this image helps us “to accept that we have been blind by action or omission” and to see that “every process of change requires a regeneration, a new look, a new sensitivity towards children, their rights and our role as educators”.

The speakers on the Bartimeu Itinerary were:

• Juan Carlos Cruz, Chilean journalist and one of the victims of sexual abuse by the priest Fernando Karadima.
• Maria Dolors Petitbò, psychologist and founding member of the Foundational Unit of Attention to Sexual Abuse of Minors (UFAM) of the Hospital San Juan de Dios in Barcelona.
• Bro. Brendan Geary, Marist Brother, former Provincial of the Province of West Central Europe, teacher, spiritual director and psychotherapist.
• Stéphane Joulain, psychotherapist and priest, member of the Society of Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers), and author of several books on the causes of abuse.
• Br. Ken McDonald, General Councillor of the Institute of the Marist Brothers.
• María Rosaura González Casas, Sister of the Society of St. Teresa of Jesus and professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University.
• Br. Luis Carlos Gutiérrez, Vicar General of the Institute of the Marist Sisters.

The members of the co-ordinating bodies for child protection in the different countries of the Province are: Angéla Mészarosné Nagy (Hungary), Eirini Petraki (Greece), Raimon Novell (Catalonia) and Julien Monghal (France).

The following links will allow you to attend the sessions of the itinerary:

• Bartimée 1: La blessure et la reconstruction – https://youtu.be/8KXEfargB7M
   La ferida i la reconstrucció – https://youtu.be/HV-LD938CnM
• Bartimeu 2:- https://youtu.be/99e2cw9CtYU
• Bartimeu 3: La crisi dels abusos, conversions per a l’Església – https://youtu.be/x2PgLo1AbfY
• Bartimeu 4: Br. Luis Carlos Gutiérrez, Vicar General – https://youtu.be/qbJOWHNjqEc
  Round table – https://youtu.be/n1BDjhPAOP4