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	Safe Environment Established in the Diocese of Salt Lake City since 2002 By Colleen Gudreau Intermountain Catholic November 27, 2007 http://www.icatholic.org/indstory/2007/200742p11.html SALT LAKE CITY — A recent national poll conducted by the Center for Applied Research indicates that only one-third of Catholics had heard of the U.S. bishops' policies to prevent child sex abuse and respond to abuse allegations. The bishops of the Diocese of Salt Lake City have strongly supported the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People," published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The Charter was adopted in June 2002 and in August 2002, Bishop George Niederauer, who was one of the writers of the Charter, appointed a diocesan review board to advise him on diocesan polices and procedures for dealing with sexual abuse of minors as well as his assessment of allegations of abuse. He also established the position of diocesan director of the safe environment program to oversee implementation of the Charter throughout the Diocese. Since his installation earlier this year, Bishop John C. Wester has actively supported implementation of the Charter. Some of the procedures that have been implemented within the diocese as a result of the Charter and the policies established by the review board include mandatory training of all priests and deacons as well as all church employees and volunteers in safe environment procedures. Many people are unaware the State of Utah requires anyone who even suspects a child has been subjected to abuse must notify the police or a law enforcement agency or the State Division of Child and Family Services. In addition, the Charter requires anyone in the diocese who believes a child has been subjected to sexual abuse must also notify the diocese, either the Vicar General, Msgr. J. Terrance Fitzgerald or the director of safe environment. To help safeguard children, the diocese also requires anyone who has regular contact with children and youth complete a background evaluation before they can work with children and youth. The diocese has a zero-tolerance policy on child abuse: we will remove from ministry anyone who has been credibly accused of abusing a minor. Certain offenses such as felony offenses against a person or family, felony offenses against public order or indecency, and felony offenses involving controlled substances normally preclude someone from being involved in ministry with minors. Other offenses are evaluated on a case by case basis before a determination is made. The Charter requires each diocese to undergo annual independent audits to determine their compliance with the requirements of the Charter. We just completed an on-site audit in September and the Diocese of Salt Lake City was determined to be compliant. Administration of program requirements is important to ensure the safety of our children, but more importantly is the outreach to survivors and their families and providing them with help such as counseling, spiritual assistance, and other support. Helping people whose lives have been broken, who have suffered unimaginable pain at the hands of those they trusted and seeing them heal, become whole, and, hopefully, even to forgive those who hurt them is the most important service we can offer.
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