The
Archdiocese of Los Angeles has mandated that all adults who work with or around
children in any capacity must know how to recognize and prevent child sexual
abuse by attending a "Protecting God's Children" VIRTUS awareness session. All paid staff and parish volunteers are
required to attend a VIRTUS Training class as well as be fingerprinted with the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles "Livescan" program.
Prayer for Children
Lord,
giver of light, and hope, you have entrusted your children to our care. We
cherish their love and energy for life. Help us to help them be people of
strength, character, and integrity. Share with us the love that will guide
their hearts. Share with us the courage that will shape their future. Be the
light that guides them - and us to your glory and goodness.
Every effort is made
to assure that all persons ministering in the Archdiocese are aware of and will
abide by the policies prohibiting sexual harassment, exploitation or abuse, and
of the procedures for dealing with incidents of sexual misconduct.
School personnel are screened for their ability to work safely with children,
are provided information to help recognize and deal with issues of child sexual
abuse, and are offered guidance and instruction on appropriate professional
conduct with students.
All seminarians and candidates for the diaconate go through an extensive
evaluation and psychological assessment before entering formation. After
ordination, priests and deacons receive ongoing training on maintaining the
integrity of the ministerial relationship.
Every person has the right to be respected and treated with the dignity
befitting a child of God. Every person has the right to having appropriate
boundaries respected. Every person has the right to challenge any behavior or
comment that is offensive or inappropriate. It is the responsibility of
everyone to protect the safety of children, families, women and men, and to
promote healing where there is injury with firm justice and mercy towards all.
“The Light Shines in the Darkness and the Darkness has not overcome it.”
(John 1:5)
Protecting God's Children -Original VIRTUS Class
VIRTUS®
Protecting God's Children Adult Awareness Session
is a three-hour training that helps
clergy, staff, volunteers and parents to understand the facts and myths about
child sexual abuse; how perpetrators operate; and how caring adults can take
five important steps to keep children safe. The parent session also stresses
monitoring of computers, cell phones and other technology that perpetrators use
to gain access to children and young people.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles mandates this training for all adults working
with children. This education component helps prevent child sexual abuse by
first making every adult employee and volunteer aware of the issues surrounding
child sexual abuse. This includes awareness of the many ways sexual abuse harms
its victims, their families, the parish, and the community. The awareness
session also helps adults learn to recognize the warning signs of abuse and
shows them the appropriate way to respond to suspicious behavior. Finally, the
awareness session empowers each person with five steps to help prevent child
sexual abuse. More than 50,000 priests, deacons, parish and school staff
members and volunteers have already participated in these sessions throughout
the five Pastoral Regions of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Our goal is to
provide this training to all adults who work with children so we can work
together as a more effective community to prevent child sexual abuse.
No trainings are currently scheduled for Holy Trinity – classes will
be scheduled for September and October.
The class is 3 hours. Immediately after the class, you will receive a
certificate of completion (valid for four years). You are also required to
submit a copy of this certificate to the parish office as well as to the head
of any ministry in which you volunteer. After your class, you should register
with VIRTUS Online (see link below).
Generally speaking, the school hosts two classes and two renewal classes in the fall of each year. If those are not convenient to your schedule, simply go online to find an upcoming VIRTUS Class in our area.
Go to: www.virtusonline.com
Select "registration" on the left side of screen
Select "view list of sessions"
Select "Los Angeles-San Fernando Region" location
This will take you to all the upcoming VIRTUS classes offered in our
area. It will aqlso give you the phone number to register for the class.
To register after taking the Original VIRTUS Class
Go to: www.virtusonline.com
Select "registration" on the left side of screen
Select "begin the registration process"
Follow information on screen to input your information
Keeping the Promise Alive - Recertification VIRTUS Class
This class is available to those who have taken the original class. This
class lasts 1 1/2 hours. You will receive a certificate of completion and you are
also required to submit a copy to the parish office as well as to the head of
any ministry in which you volunteer.
The Master List of Virtus Certificates
is on File at Holy Trinity School Office
Make a report
:
If you are
being abused, have been abused, or know someone who is being abused, you can
call Victims Assistance Ministry at (800) 355-2545 or seek help through one of
many agencies.
Click for more info
.