We are committed to safety, justice and healing to protect our vulnerable populations. The Diocese of Orlando has been found compliant with all audited articles within the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People for 2022. Read the compliance letter.

The Diocese of Orlando is required by the United States Catholic Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to follow certain guidelines with regard to Safe Environment Training. As are all other archdioceses and dioceses, we are required to undergo regular audits by the USCCB to be sure that we are in compliance with those regulations.

All church personnel and volunteers working with children and vulnerable populations must complete Safe Environment Training in addition to a background/fingerprint clearance. In an effort to ensure the safety of those persons under the care of the Diocese, all Church Personnel and volunteers, ages 15 and older, will be required to submit a completed Criminal Background Check Form as well as a complete set of fingerprints so as to facilitate a criminal background investigation.

Safe Environment/Fingerprinting Support

Ida Jimenez
Safe Environment Manager
(407) 246-4822
ijimenez@orlandodiocese.org

Victim Assistance Coordinator

The Victim Assistance Coordinator is an individual designated by the Bishop to be responsible for initial pastoral response and subsequent pastoral care in the name of the Diocese to victims of sexual abuse by Church Personnel.

Randy Means
(407) 246-7179

(Diocesan Safe Environment Policy English/Spanish)

When an allegation of child sexual abuse is received:

Florida Reporting Law is followed. Call toll-free abuse registry hotline at 1-800-962-2873 or 1-800-342-9152 immediately.
The Victim Assistance Coordinator is notified, 407-246-7179.
The individual is removed from his/her position pending a law enforcement and internal investigation.
The Victim Assistance Coordinator commences an investigation as quickly as possible, in coordination with the Senior Director of Human Resources, but no later than within one week of the notification of the allegation, and consults with members of the Diocesan Review Board, the Diocesan Attorney, or others as needed.
The recommendations of the Diocesan Review Board are presented to the Bishop

The Diocesan Review Board acts in a confidential, consultative manner to advise the Bishop in any matter relating to alleged sexual abuse of a Vulnerable Person involving clergy or religious women. This Board and Board Chair are appointed by the Bishop. The Board consists of at least five individuals not employed by the Diocese. The current board has one priest serving. The others are lay members. At the request of the Diocesan Review Board members, their names and credentials are not posted. We honor their request for privacy.

New Province Policy on Vox Estis Lux Mundi.

Vademecum – Certain points of procedure in treating cases of sexual abuse of minor committed by clerics (Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith)

Statewide (DCF) Abuse Hotline: 1-800-96-ABUSE (1-800-962-2873)

Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting System – March 16, 2020

This service has been created to gather and relay reports of sexual misconduct involving bishops of the United States, and reports of their intentional interference in a sexual abuse investigation. If you wish to report any other kind of misconduct by a bishop, please contact your local diocese or eparchy instead.

Make a report online or call 1-800-276-1562

USCCB Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People

The committee provides the bishops of the United States with comprehensive planning and recommendations concerning child and youth protection, in coordination with the National Review Board, as dictated by the Charter for the Protection of Children & Young People.

The secretariat has the following areas of responsibility: provide support and assistance to the National Review Board and Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, conduct diocesan audits, and exist as a resource for dioceses/eparchies.

USCCB Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People Annual Report

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection has released the 2022 Annual Report – Findings and Recommendations on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Safe Environment Certification Video

Response to Statewide Prosecution’s Report

November 6, 2020

Bishop Noonan’s statement in English

Declaración del Obispo Noonan en español

Top Stories

What is the Code of Canon Law? – December 20, 2021

St. Paul described the Church as the Mysterical Body of Christ (cf. 1Cor. 12:12-31; Col. 1:18). This mystical reality has a visible expression manifested in its institutional and hierarchical structure. As such, we need the law to uphold order, protect rights, provide guidance, and if necessary, for reparation of damages, impose penalty on offenders of the law. While the legal system of the Catholic Church has many facets, it is built upon one very important instrument, namely The Code of Canon Law (CIC)…

2020 Annual Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People – November 10, 2021

The 2020 Annual Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, produced by the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection (SCYP) in 2021, describes the progress of Catholic dioceses/eparchies in implementing victim assistance and child protection policies and programs in the United States, particularly those found within the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The audit process measures compliance with the articles of the Charter. The Statement of Episcopal Commitment and Essential Norms, found after the Charter within the same booklet, are not the purview of the audit. Additionally, find this one page summary of the data collected for the 2020 audit year.

The Annual Report is based on an annual audit process, carried out between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020, by Stonebridge Business Partners.

Included in the report are findings regarding diocesan/eparchial compliance with the Charter, recommendations from the auditor on how Charter implementation can be improved, a progress report from the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection on its activities, and data regarding allegations, safe environment programs, background checks, financial costs related to allegations and child protection efforts in dioceses/eparchies, and more from Stonebridge and/or the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA).

Promise to Protect Podcast: A Bishop’s Perspective on Safe Environment ft. Bishop Wack – 2021

Bishop Bill Wack, Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, outlines the key reasons why the work of child and youth protection is important from a Church leadership perspective.

Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting System – March 16, 2020

Make a report online or call 1-800-276-1562

Remaining Catholic: A Survivor’s Perspective – October 15, 2019

Interested in staying up-to-date with current trends in child protection and victim assistance?

Join the USCCB Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection for monthly podcasts featuring experts from fields including prevention, pastoral care of victim/survivors, safe environment training, and more.

Episode 14: Mike Hoffman, a survivor of child sexual abuse and an advocate for abuse prevention, shares his own stories of healing, faith, family and why he chooses to remain an active Catholic.

U.S. Bishops Vote in Favor of Three Additional Bishop Accountability Measures During Baltimore General Assembly – June 13, 2019

U.S. Catholic Bishops approved three additional measures to address abuse and bishop accountability during their annual Spring General Assembly in Baltimore. The measures expand upon the Pope Francis’s Motu proprio and the U.S. Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The reforms are designed to hold bishops accountable for instances of sexual misconduct against minors and vulnerable adults…

Worldwide order to Church from Pope in response to evil of sexual abuse – May 9, 2019

Pope Francis’ Motu proprio, “Vos estis lux mundi,” (English, Spanish) establishes new procedures for reporting abuse and violence, and ensures that Bishops and Religious Superiors are held accountable for their actions. It includes the obligation for clerics and religious to report abuse. Every Diocese must have a system that allows the public to submit reports easily….

Ensuring a safe environment for the vulnerable – April 8, 2019

“Each person should be respected and treated with the dignity befitting a child of God and it is everyone’s responsibility to safeguard those around us. These are the core values of the Safe Environment Policy of the Diocese of Orlando. For this reason, diocesan leaders continue to update, improve upon, and insert Catholic teaching into the training process for all clergy, religious, church personnel and lay volunteers who work with vulnerable populations…”

Bishop Noonan reflects on the “now” of God – February 22, 2019

“Where is your heart? Is it struggling with anger and disappointment? Perhaps some of that is directed at me for something you perceive I did or did not do. I am sorry for your disappointment. This week, February 21 – 24, our Holy Father has gathered the presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of the Catholic Church on the theme of ‘protection of minors.’ Let us pray together for those who are participating that God’s love will be a source of unification and that our collective heart will repent and forgive our sinfulness.”

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