Newsweek reports the Archdiocese of New York is using a comic book-style coloring book to address child abuse and sexual abuse.
The book, titled Being Friends, Being Safe, Being Catholic, has been shipped to about 700 parochial schools, along with comics about molestation, for older children:
At first glance, “Being Friends, Being Safe, Being Catholic” is what you’d expect from a Christian handout: lessons in loving thy neighbor and knowing we’re all special in God’s eyes, plus a fun word search with names of people whom kids can trust (parents, counselors, teachers). Many of the book’s cartoon-sketch drawings, which were created by a church volunteer, are light in tone and narrated by an angel looming overhead. But on one page, the angel warns of an online predator—with chest hair exposed—who attempts to chat with a child; on another (shown above), the angel implies that children should make sure they’re never alone in a room with a priest.
FishbowlNY has links to a series of comic book-style posters also being distributed to schools.
Related: More coverage, from the New York Post
