1.12 Module 1 Summary

Safeguarding is part of shepherding. It is a moral and spiritual duty expressed through disciplined, lawful, accountable practice.

In this module you have formed five core convictions:

1. Safeguarding is Gospel-weighted duty, not administrative inconvenience.
2. Clergy authority creates asymmetry; therefore clergy must be more disciplined, not less.
3. Good intentions are unreliable; safeguarding requires habits, process, and accountability.
4. The Church has a moral obligation to protect, refuse concealment, and resist retaliation.
5. The clergy standard of care is reliability under pressure: seriousness, protection-first discipline, evidence discipline, accountability, and boundaries.

Module 2 will define scope and key terms across jurisdictions (children, adults at risk, categories of abuse, grooming patterns, and spiritual abuse) without assuming one country’s legal definitions as universal.