PREAMBLE
This Code of Professional Conduct applies to all clergy and those in clerical formation, religious and those in consecrated life, employees and volunteers who supervise or work with children (hereafter referred to as eligible adults).

GENERAL APPLICATION:
1. Eligible adults shall be responsible for adherence to this Code of Professional Conduct.
2. Eligible adults who violate or disregard this Code of Professional Conduct will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
3. This Code of Professional Conduct is to be used in conjunction with ALL other
employment-related guidelines and policies.
4. Eligible adults shall sign an acknowledgement of receipt of this Code of Professional Conduct, a copy of which shall be placed in the individual's permanent personnel file.

SPECIFIC CONDUCT WITH YOUTH:
1. Eligible adults shall maintain an open and trustworthy relationship with youth and strive to provide a safe place for youth.
2. Eligible adults shall not use or possess alcohol and/ or illicit drugs while working with youth.
3. Eligible adults should be aware of the potential impropriety, and even the appearance of impropriety, when working alone with any youth. Eligible adults shall use a team approach in managing youth activities.
4. Eligible adults shall establish and maintain clear, appropriate, and professional
boundaries when working with youth.
5. Clergy shall not share overnight accommodations with youth in any church-owned facility, private residence, hotel room, or any other place.
6. Employees and volunteers, in conjunction with church-related activities, shall not share overnight accommodations alone with youth including, but not limited to, accommodations in any church-owned facility, private residence, hotel room, or any other place. In an emergency situation, when accommodation is necessary for the health and well-being of youth, and the above prohibition cannot be avoided, extraordinary care shall be taken to protect ail parties from the risk of harm and even the appearance of impropriety.
7. Eligible adults shall exercise discretion in having any physical contact with youth.

HARASSMENT:
1. Eligible adults shall not engage in any form of physical, sexual, psychological, written and/ or oral harassment of any individual and shall not tolerate any such conduct by any other Church personnel.
2. Eligible adults shall maintain a professional work environment that is free from any and all forms of physical, sexual, psychological, written, and/ or oral intimidation or harassment.
SECH Rev. 07 /15 (20)
3. This prohibition against harassment encompasses a broad range of physical, sexual, psychological, written, and/ or oral behavior including without limitation: physical or mental abuse; racial insults; derogatory ethnic slurs; unwelcome sexual advances or touching; sexual comments or sexual jokes; display of offensive materials; or requests for sexual activity or behavior of any kind for any reason.
4. Eligible adults shall take every report or allegation of harassment seriously and shall follow all diocesan Safe Environment reporting procedures.

STANDARDS OF CONDUCT FOR COUNSELORS AND COUNSELING SESSIONS:
1. Counselors shall respect the rights, and seek to advance the welfare, of each person being counseled.
2. Counselors shall establish and maintain clear, appropriate, and professional boundaries in all counseling relationships.
3. Counselors shall carefully consider the possible consequences before entering into a counseling relationship with a person with whom the counselor has a pre-existing relationship, i.e., employee, colleague, friend.
4. Counselors shall conduct counseling sessions in. appropriate settings and at appropriate times! This prohibits counseling in the private living quarters of the counselor.
5. Counselors shall not engage in any form of sexual intimacy with the person being counseled. This prohibition includes, without limitation, consensual, sexual contact and inappropriate sexual language or innuendo.
6. Counselors shall not engage in any form of sexual intimacy with any individual who is related by blood or marriage to or who is a personal friend of the person being counseled. This prohibition includes, without limitation, consensual, sexual contact and inappropriate sexual language or innuendo.
7. Counselors shall not audiotape or videotape any counseling session without the written consent of both the adult being counseled or the parent or guardian of the youth being counseled, and the supervisor, of the counselor. •ny recording shall be subject to all applicable confidentiality standards. 
8. Counselors shall not continue to provide counseling under circumstances or particular issues that exceed the limit of' their competence and shall make appropriate referrals for the person being counseled. 
9.  Counselors should avoid even non-sexual physical contact such as touching, hugging, or holding the person being counseled.

CONFIDENTIALITY OF COUNSELING SESSIONS:
1. Counselors shall maintain all information disclosed during the course of counseling, advising, or spiritual direction in the strictest confidence possible. This Code of Professional Conduct, as applied to counselors, is separate from, and independent of, the confidentiality involving, a confession or information received by a priest in Sacramental Confession. The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore, it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason. (canon 938) A confessor is prohibited completely from using knowledge acquired from confession to the detriment of the penitent even when any danger of revelation is excluded. A priest may not use in any manner for external governance the knowledge about sins which he has received in confession at any time. (canon 984)
2. In the ordinary case, provision must be made for the possibility of anonymous
confession as well as for penitents who wish to confess face-to-face. (USCCB
Complimentary Norm, canon 964) However, a priest may choose to hear confessions in a SECH Rev. 07/15 (21) confessional with a fixed grille. (Authentic Interpretation of canon 964§2 by the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, 7 July 1998 (AAS90 [1998] 711) .
3. Counselors may disclose certain information if there is clear and imminent danger to the person being counseled or to others. In such event, the person being counseled should be informed of the necessity of making the required disclosure and of the potential consequences. The disclosure should be limited to the information necessary to protect the affected person(s) from harm.
4. Counselors should discuss with each person being counseled, as a part of the initial counseling, the nature of the counseling relationship, and the issues of confidentiality, including the above-stated limitations.
5. Counselors may use the knowledge gained from prior and/ or ongoing counseling
sessions in teaching, writing, public speaking, and/ or homilies, only after precautionary and effective measures have been exercised to safeguard the identity of any person or persons.
6. The confidentiality of counseling sessions is limited by the mandatory state law
reporting requirements. In the event that otherwise confidential information is
necessarily disclosed, counselors should advise the person being counseled that the
disclosure will be made.

REPORTING STANDARDS:
l. Eligible adults shall hold one another accountable for maintaining the highest ethical, moral, and professional standards.
2. Eligible adults shall take seriously every allegation or report of unethical behavior and/ or professional misconduct.
3. In the event that the allegation or report involves any form of abuse, or the substantial risk of danger to the health or welfare of any youth, then eligible adults shall follow all diocesan Safe Environment reporting procedures.

ADMINISTRATION:
1. Personnel and other administrative decisions made by eligible adults shall meet civil and canon law obligations, reflect Catholic social teachings, and adhere to the standards of this Code of Professional Conduct.
2. Eligible adults shall not use their positions to exercise unreasonable or inappropriate power and authority or take advantage of anyone to further their personal, religious, political, or business interest.
3. Eligible adults shall reasonably avoid situations which place other interests above
professional or volunteer goals. They shall avoid the appearance of the same.
4. Eligible adults shall inform all affected parties including without limitation their
supervisor, when a real or potential conflict of interest exists.

WELL-BEING OF ALL ELIGIBLE ADULTS:
l. Eligible adults should be aware of warning signs that indicate potential problems with their own spiritual, physical, mental, and/ or emotional health.
2. Eligible adults should seek help immediately whenever they notice behavioral or
emotional warning signs in their own professional and/ or personal lives.
3. Eligible adults should cooperate with and support one another.
SECH Rev. 07 /15 (22)

COMMUNICATION STANDARDS:
1. Eligible adults should be open to, and accessible to one another, and to all parishioners.
2. Eligible adults shall address and seek to resolve all matters promptly, efficiently, and fairly, and with utmost discretion.
3. Eligible adults shall adhere to the diocesan Social Media Policy.
SECH Rev. 07 /15 (23)l