Protecting God's Children

The Charter

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was established by the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops in June 2002 and revised in 2011. The Charter is a comprehensive set of guidelines and procedures for reconciliation, healing, accountability, and prevention of acts of abuse. Churches, schools, and youth organizations must ensure that children and youth who worship, study, or participate in activities can do so in the safest and most secure setting possible. The Charter requires dioceses and eparchies to provide education and training for children, youth, parents, ministers, educators, volunteers and others about ways to create and maintain a safe environment for children and young people.

All school personnel and volunteers must be Safe Environment certified prior to serving Catholic High in any supervisory duties involving students.

Certification

Initial Certification: You must attend a Safe Environment meeting at Catholic High School, a church parish, or any other Diocesan school.

The recertification module will take approximately one hour. If you have to close your session before you’ve finished, your progress will be saved. You can change your account information by clicking on “Update My Account.” You can view the contact information for the diocese by clicking on “Contact My Coordinator.” Once finished, email Mrs. Paula Bellman to let her know you have completed training.

Continuing Certification: As part of the ongoing mission of the safety of our children here in the Diocese of Lafayette, the following information is provided to access the online recertification training – Protecting God’s Children Online Awareness Training. Only those individuals who have completed initial training are eligible for this recertification.

  1. Go to www.virtus.org.

  2. Click on “Registration” link highlighted in yellow if you are a new user. If you have registered previously, login and proceed to step 9.
  3. Select “Begin the registration process.”
  4. Select your organization from the dropdown list – Lafayette, LA (diocese).
  5. Create a username and password (using your email address as your username should assure no duplication).
  6. Provide the required contact information.
  7. Select your organization from the dropdown list-parish/school location (please indicate all that apply). Select your primary role within the diocese. Note: If you are a paid teacher, select Educator.
  8. Go to VIRTUS Online, and enter your username and password.
  9. Once logged in, you will click on the green circle to begin your online training.

RENEW ONLINE

For assistance, go to www.virtus.org and click on “Help”, then click on “VIRTUS Online Help Desk” to send a message to VIRTUS, or you can call 888-847-887.