In this undated photo, a sign is seen outside Holy Name of Jesus Parish and School in Henderson, reading “No excuse for child abuse. Keep our children safe… Make child abuse prevention a priority!” COURTESY OF TERRA HURTTE

BY ANDY TELLI, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

Every April, in front of Holy Name of Jesus Parish and School on busy Second Street in Henderson, people driving and walking by will notice the display of blue pinwheels.

The pinwheels, which evoke the whimsical and fun life every child should have, are also a reminder of the children denied that kind of life because of an important societal issue: child abuse.

Holy Name is among several parishes and schools in the Diocese of Owensboro that participate in the national Pinwheels for Prevention program sponsored by the Prevent Child Abuse America organization. The program is designed to raise awareness about child abuse and efforts to prevent it, and April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

“I know it catches their attention when they’re driving down the street,” Terra Hurtte, office manager at Holy Name School, said of the display of pinwheels. “Typically, we’ll have one or two parents post it on social media.”

Bringing awareness to the problem of child abuse is important, Hurtte said. “It’s important that we all do our part to prevent that from happening in our hometown.”

It’s a similar story at Immaculate Conception Parish in Hawesville, where the church is located downtown right at the bridge across the Ohio River.

“People ask about it and that gives us the opportunity to explain what they’re for,” said Nicole Ballard, director of religious education at Immaculate Conception. The display is an important reminder that adults must be advocates for children’s safety “because they can’t be advocates for themselves,” Ballard said.

Businesses across Owensboro participate in the national pinwheels program. When Janice Hendricks, the Safe Environment coordinator for the Diocese of Owensboro, heard about the program, she was eager to have the diocese’s parishes and schools join the effort.

Outside Holy Name of Jesus School in Henderson, the lawn is spotted with shining blue pinwheels, which are often associated with child abuse awareness, in this undated photo. COURTESY OF TERRA HURTTE

“I try to supply churches and schools with yard signs and pinwheels to put up in the month of April to let people know we are all standing together,” Hendricks said. “We have a lot of people across western Kentucky who can make an impact.”

The pinwheels program falls in the same month as the diocesan prayer service in remembrance of victims and survivors of abuse by people working on behalf of the Church, Hendricks explained.

“Many of those people were harmed when they were children. It seemed the pinwheel program went hand-in-hand with that,” she said.

This year, the prayer service of remembrance will be held at 6 p.m. April 8, at St. Stephen Cathedral in Owensboro. The service, which lasts 30-45 minutes, will be livestreamed on the cathedral’s social media platforms, Hendricks said.

The Catholic Church has been wounded by its own history of sex abuse, but it’s not alone in that regard. “It happens to children all over, often by people they are close to,” Hendricks said. “You need to be aware of what’s going on in your circle” to help prevent abuse, she added.

The diocesan Safe Environment program offers several initiatives to help children and adults understand the problem and how to prevent abuse. All employees and volunteers who work with children are required to complete training on how to recognize signs of abuse and how to prevent it, as well as undergo background checks. Each parish has a Safe Environment coordinator to oversee those efforts.

Each fall, all children in Catholic schools and religious education programs in the diocese participate in the Circle of Grace program, which addresses the issue from a Catholic perspective in an age-appropriate fashion, Hendricks said.

In 2002, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which is a comprehensive set of procedures for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors. The Charter also includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability, and prevention of further acts of abuse.

The USCCB’s Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection oversees a process to audit all dioceses to determine if they are implementing the practices required by the Charter. In November 2024, the Diocese of Owensboro was informed that an audit of its Safe Environment program found it was in full compliance with the Charter.

“I have a lot of people across the diocese in parishes and schools working hard to make sure they are following the rules,” Hendricks said.

Originally printed in the April 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.