A. General Requirements
1. All Lay Spiritual Directors connected to a parish or other location in the Diocese of Allentown must:
- Be a Catholic parishioner in good standing with a Roman Catholic parish. If the Lay Spiritual Director is not a parishioner in the Roman Catholic parish in which he or she is performing their ministry, then a letter of good standing must be received from the Pastor where the Spiritual Director is a parishioner.
- Have completed and be certified from a spiritual director program approved by the Diocese of Allentown.*
- Men and Women religious who are spiritual directors also must have completed and be certified from a spiritual director program approved by the Diocese of Allentown.*
2. All Lay Spiritual Directors connected to a parish or other location in the Diocese of Allentown:
- MUST NOT perform the practice of the Reiki technique even if the Lay Spiritual Director is a trained Reiki practitioner.
- MUST NOT perform massage techniques or any type of healing practice that requires physical contact between the Lay Spiritual Director and the directee.
- MUST NOT engage in any physical contact with the directee.
- MUST NOT practice the inclusion of the enneagram personality system into the spiritual direction ministry.
- MUST NOT practice any other forms of spiritual direction or techniques that are contrary to the Church's teachings, beliefs or practices.
*Please contact Pamela Russo, Secretary for Youth Protection at 610-871-5200, ext. 2204 for more information regarding spiritual directors.
B. Requirements Concerning Referrals
1. To be eligible to receive referrals of parishioners, each Catholic Lay Spiritual Director must first provide the following to the Pastor of the Parish or Administrator of the Diocesan location prior to commencement of any spiritual direction activity (which documentation should be retained in a file by the Pastor or Administrator):
a. Proof of successful completion and certification by an approved Spiritual Director Program via a certificate or diploma; and -
b. A signed contract with the parish by the lay spiritual director regarding his/her spiritual direction (see attachment); and -
c. A certificate of insurance evidencing $1,000,000 of professional liability coverage for spiritual ministry; and -
d. A signed Diocese of Allentown Code of Conduct acknowledgment form.
C. Requirements Concerning Providing Office Space in the Parish or Diocesan Location
1. Before providing office space to a Catholic Lay Spiritual Director, the Spiritual Director must provide the following to the Pastor of the Parish or Administrator of the Diocesan location (which documentation should be retained in a file by the Pastor or Administrator):
a. Proof of successful completion and certification by an approved Spiritual Direction Program via a certificate or diploma; and -
b. A signed contract with the parish by the Lay Spiritual Director regarding his/her spiritual direction. (see attachment); and -
c. A certificate of insurance evidencing $1,000,000 of professional liability coverage for spiritual ministry; and -
d. A signed Diocese of Allentown Code of Conduct acknowledgment form; and-
e. A certificate of insurance evidencing $1,000,000 of comprehensive general liability coverage naming the Pastor or Administrator, the location, Bishop Alfred A. Schlert and the Diocese of Allentown as "additional insureds"; and -
f. A signed facility usage agreement.
2. Please note that Spiritual Directors generally charge a directee for their time, Therefore, the Parish or Diocesan Location should charge a rental fee, even nominal, for the use of the office space.
