Do you need to Report Abuse?
Protecting Vulnerable Individuals: Our Diocese's Commitment
As Christian adults, we have a moral and legal responsibility and are entrusted by God with the spiritual, emotional and physical well being of minors and vulnerable adults as they participate in activities within or sponsored by our Diocese. It is our responsibility and commitment to provide an environment which is safe and nurturing.
In order to achieve the above, the diocese has a Safe Environment Program that implements training, screening, background checks and other procedures that are designed to reduce the risk of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults. Every parish, school and Diocesan agency has the program and each is responsible for program implementation and continuation.
Safe Environment Clearing Process
Any staff member or volunteer working with children must be Safe Environment cleared. This requires several steps:
1.Complete the Screening Form
2. Training
A link to training will be forwarded once the Diocesan Screening Form is received.
3. Interview
This must be conducted in person at the respective office location after above steps have been completed.
Safe Environment Policies
The following are the policies for the Diocese of Dallas.
Ongoing Commitment
As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability, you can learn about Catholic Diocese of Dallas’ work to prevent abuse and our work to support victim’s of abuse. It is because of the hard work and dedication of our Safety Environment, and the hundreds of thousands of diocese team members, volunteers, clergy and lay faithful who have participated in the program, new cases of abuse are rare today. However, we remain vigilant in our commitment to protect children and report allegations and remove perpetrators from ministry.
2,424 Priest Files
A team of former state and federal law enforcement experts reviewed the files of 2,424 active and former priests in the Diocese dating back to 1950 to identify any allegations of the sexual abuse of minors.
Less than 2%
Priests with Credible Allegations. A “credible allegation” is one that, after review of reasonably available, relevant information in consultation with the Diocesan Review Board or other professionals, there is reason to believe it is true.
“We must remind ourselves to not separate from Jesus because of Judas. As your shepherd, I pray that you stay strong in the faith and continue to grow in your relationship of our Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
– Bishop Edward J. Burns
5,316
Diocese clergy and staff are cleared to work with children. They have submitted to screening, training and criminal background checks.
18,268
Volunteers are cleared to work with children after submitting to screening, training and criminal background checks.
46,304
Children and Youth in both Catholic Schools and parish religious education received abuse prevention education.
Homebound Ministry
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Synod
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Protect & report
As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability, you can use this portal to learn about our efforts to prevent abuse and misconduct.
Podcast
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1950 to Present