Safe Environment

The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) issued the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002. In this charter, along with a statement of revisions in 2005, the bishops affirmed their deep commitment to creating a safe environment within the Church for children and youth. The Office for Child and Youth Protection was established to see that safe environment programs are in place to assist parents and children—and those who work with children—in preventing harm to young people.

In response to the Charter and under the direction of Bishop Kinney to maintain safe environments in all of the parishes of the St. Cloud Diocese, safe environment training for students in grades K-12 is provided by the parish each year. The Diocese of St. Cloud has designed a plan to be used by our Catholic Schools and Faith Formation programs for this purpose.

At Sacred Heart the children in our Catholic Schools participate in the safe environment program during the school day. Children not attending a Catholic School have the opportunity to watch the age-appropriate video, presented each year followed by discussion. These sessions take about 20-25 minutes. Parents are invited but not required to watch the videos with their children. The dates of the video presentations for this year will be announced at a later date. If parents choose not to have your children watch the videos, they are asked to complete a declination statement.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Joan Krause, at 251-8115 (ext. *818) or jkrause@sacredheartsaukrapids.org.