CHARLOTTE — Suzanne Carney has joined the Diocese of Charlotte as its safe environment program coordinator.
Carney is responsible for overseeing the diocese’s comprehensive program for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, helping parishes, schools and ministries maintain compliance with diocesan policies and the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection for Children and Young People.
Carney succeeds David Vasquez, who is moving into a special projects role for the diocese after serving as safe environment coordinator since 2023.
Carney brings nearly two decades of leadership and ministry experience.
Prior to joining the diocese, Carney served in several leadership roles at St. James the Greater Church in Concord, including preschool director and family faith formation coordinator. She holds degrees in Criminal Justice and Early Childhood Education and Development and has been recognized as Preschool Director of the Year and Community Leader of the Year.
“After many years of working directly with children and families in parish ministry at St. James, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve all families, parishes and schools throughout the Diocese of Charlotte,” she said. “I am also very grateful for the work of my predecessor and the strong foundation he built, that was entrusted to me. I look forward to building upon this foundation while supporting our parishes and schools in creating environments where the safety and dignity of every individual remain at the heart of what we do.”
A Charlotte native, Carney and her husband, Bobby, have been married for 31 years and have two daughters. They are parishioners at St. James.
— Catholic News Herald
RALEIGH — Members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem from the Carolinas, Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C., gathered Oct. 23-24 for their annual meeting and investiture, hosted by the Diocese of Raleigh.
The Middle Atlantic Lieutenancy of the chivalric order, which supports the Church in the Holy Land, welcomed 29 new members. Invested from the Diocese of Charlotte were: Stephen Barringer, Father Casey Coleman, Patricia Guilfoyle, Lorena Haynes and Jason Haynes. Promoted to the rank of Knight Commander was Zachariah Blankenbaker, and promoted to the rank of Dame Commander were Gail Buckley Barringer and Justice Blankenbaker.
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem was founded nearly a thousand years ago, during the Crusades when Jerusalem came under attack, and the pope remains its sovereign.
Today, men and women of the order still defend and support the Christian presence in the Holy Land through their charitable work. The order has approximately 30,000 members in 40 nations worldwide who contribute millions of dollars annually to fund schools, hospitals, clinics, seminaries and social welfare projects managed by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (including institutions like Bethlehem University) across Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Cyprus.
Knights and ladies wear capes featuring a thick red “Jerusalem cross” that has four miniature crosses in each corner of the main cross. Each of the five crosses represents the five wounds of Christ.
Learn more about their work at www.midatlanticeohs.com.
— Catholic News Herald