History and Response

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was established in 2002 to address the issue of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy. The charter outlines procedures for dioceses to follow to ensure the safety of children and youth in the Catholic Church going forward.

The Diocese of Saint Cloud is committed to following the procedures outlined in the charter, which include promulgating a sexual misconduct policy, safe environment training, background checks of all adults working with children, youth and vulnerable adults, hiring a victim assistant coordinator, the creation of a diocesan review board and a prompt effective response to any allegations.

To read the entire document, visit: The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (PDF) USCCB
Para leer el documento completo, visite: La Carta para la Protección de la Infancia y la Juventud (PDF) USCCB

For more information, contact Linda Kaiser at (320) 251-2340 or email at lkaiser@gw.stcdio.org.

Reporting Abuse

How to Report
Sexual Abuse
and Exploitation (PDF)

Como Reportar
el Abuso Sexual y
La Explotacion (PDF)

Visit online at How to Report Abuse.

Letter from Bishop Kettler

Read the Letter from Bishop Donald Kettler (PDF) promulgating our 2022-2023 Safe Environment efforts throughout the diocese.

Site Administrators Guide

CMGConnect – Diocese of St. Cloud – Safe Environment Site Administrator Guide (PDF)

Training and Background Checks of Adults

Training and Background Checks are now synced, and will be renewed together every 5 years. This is done online at https://stcloud.cmgconnect.org.
New staff and volunteers should ‘Register for a New Account.’ Those who have an account need to use it. If in doubt, or if you forgot your username or password, check with your site administrator.

Training of Students

“The job of ensuring children’s safety is a challenging undertaking. The prevention of child sexual abuse requires more than adult awareness, education, and training about the nature and scope of the problem. We must also give our children the tools they need to overcome the advances of someone who intends to do them harm. The Teaching Boundaries and Safety Guide is a tool designed to assist parents and teachers in this important task. The Empowering God’s Children program is a vehicle through which parents, teachers, catechists, and youth ministers give children and young people the tools they need to protect themselves from those who might harm them.

Each year, the program provides a theme that introduces and builds on the basic concepts of the Teaching Boundaries and Safety Guide. The material is developmentally appropriate for each age group and includes content and activities that reinforce the message”. (Virtus)

The Diocese of Saint Cloud is excited about using the materials from Virtus to train the children and youth of the diocese about safety and to give parents and teachers the tools they need to address this very important topic. Each parish faith formation director, youth minister, Catholic school principal will have access to the new lesson plans each year.