The Office for the Protection of Children and Young People serves the purpose of creating a safe environment for the children and young people of the Diocese of Savannah. Our current policy, in accord with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was prepared by the Diocesan Sexual Misconduct Advisory Board, endorsed by the Council of Priests and Board of Vicars, and approved by Bishop J. Kevin Boland.

Our Commitment to a Safe Environment

The Diocese of Savannah is committed to providing safe environments and fostering continuous improvement in every organization that sponsors activities and/or provides services to children and youth. Through a series of workshops, educational materials, classroom instruction and background checks, the Diocese is:

• Increasing awareness of potentially harmful situations through the VIRTUS training workshops.
• Empowering adults and children to act before abuse occurs through the Child Lures Prevention for Catholic School and Religious Education students and in Youth Ministry with an Inter-generational Program for families.
• Evaluating background checks for relevance to the employee’s or volunteer’s position.
• Implementing a Pastoral Code of Conduct which outlines acceptable and unacceptable behaviors for all clergy, employees and volunteers.
• Providing continuing education through the VIRTUS Web site.

Bishop Cupich explaining the 2009 Audit Report Results on Sex Abuse

Bishop Blase Cupich, Chairman of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Protection of Children and Young People, reports on the findings from the 2009 Audit regarding diocesan compliance with the Bishops' "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People".