Protecting Children

My Dear People,

Protecting children and youth is an important part of our mission of preaching the good news. It is one of the ways we practice the commandment of Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you.”  I am pleased to report that year after year we successfully complete an audit of our Child and Youth Protection programs done by Stonebridge Business Partners, a national compliance audit firm acting on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Passing such an audit reflects the quality of the programs to be sure, but most of all, it reflects the commitment, dedication and hard work of all the adults involved with children in our parishes and schools. I am grateful for your support.

In June of 2002, the Bishops of the U.S. signed the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People", and have reaffirmed their commitment to that charter regularly in the years since then. I pledge my personal commitment to the Charter and to the maintenance of programs to ensure the safety of all children entrusted to the care of the Church. We will continue to provide training and background evaluation for adults and training for all of our children, as evidence shows this process is working.

We also have outreach programs in place to support the survivors of abuse and their families and this support will continue.

My prayers are with all of our parents, educators, and other adults concerned for the safety of children. May God richly bless each of you.

Sincerely Yours in Our Lord,
Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone
Archbishop of San Francisco

USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People
English  |   Spanish  |   Vietnamese

USCCB Child and Youth Protection Website