Meetings of the General Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons
Members of the Commission met for the first time from November 20 to 22, 2023, at the General Curia. The meeting was organized by commission president Michael Farrugia O. Carm., the procurator general. The full commission participated. Members are: Ms. Julie McCullough, a laywoman from Ireland; Ms. Julie Courtney, a laywoman from England; Fr. Quinn Conners, O. Carm., from the PCM Province; and, participating via Zoom online, Fr. Babu Payikkattu, from St. Thomas Province in India. During this first meeting, three areas were the focus of the discussions: the nature, mandate, and competencies of the Commission, the policy and standards for the Order to have regarding safeguarding and the strategic plan to assist the general council and the whole Order.
Information about the members
Quinn R. Conners, Ph.D., a member of the PCM Province, is a licensed clinical psychologist. He has been associated with Saint Luke Institute for many years, serving on the clinical staff, as vice-president and COO, associate director of clinical services and currently as consultant for clinical services. Previously he served as the prior and director of formation at Whitefriars Hall and was director of novices, and prior provincial of the province. He has served as a consultant to the USCCB Committee on Priestly Formation and the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse. He is a member of Misconduct Review Boards of several Catholic entities. He is also adjunct clinical associate professor in the School of Theology & Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America.
Julie Courtney, from England, works as a youth and community worker. She is also very involved in the field of safeguarding with religious orders and diocesan safeguarding offices to implement national policies. She has worked with the Carmelite’s British province for nearly 20 years. She ministered some time as a prison chaplain. She currently works for the local government authority supporting struggling families.
Julie McCullough, from Ireland, is the director of safeguarding and the designated liaison person for safeguarding in the Irish province of Carmelites. Julie is a qualified CORU registered social worker with over twenty years’ experience in safeguarding in community, paediatric, and church settings.
Babu Payikkattu, a member of the Province of St. Thomas in India, is a clinical psychologist working in a general/psychiatric hospital, as well in communities, schools and colleges. Currently he serves as deputy director, principal of Sweekaar Academy of Rehabilitation Sciences in India, as well as the head of the Academy’s Department of Clinical Psychology.
