Safe Environment

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church & School
Safe Environment Pledge and Accountability Statement

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and School are committed to protecting children, youth and vulnerable adults.

Safe Environment Pledge:
All St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and School clergy, parish and school employees, and volunteers who have either regular or unsupervised interaction with minors or vulnerable adults must complete the Essential 3 requirements:

  1. Participate in VIRTUS safe environment training
  2. Undergo a criminal background check, and
  3. Adhere to a Code of Conduct

Catholic schools and parish faith formation and youth ministry programs have been teaching children and youth age-appropriate lessons about personal safety and sexual abuse prevention since 2006. Learn more about how St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and School and other parishes have been working to establish a safe environment under Promise to Protect.

More information is available on the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Safe Environment website.

Accountability Statement:
Our clergy, parish and school employees, and volunteers are resolute in maintaining a system of accountability for reporting any suspected abuse to local law enforcement and confirm this commitment through the Code of Conduct they sign after completing periodic safe environment training.

If you ever suspect abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult, your first call should be to your local law enforcement or 911.  To view current contact information for all Sheriff’s Offices in the state of Minnesota, please click here.

If you suspect child abuse within a family, you should call your local child protection agency. To view current contact information for all child protection agencies in the state of Minnesota, please click here.

To learn more about reporting suspected abuse, please also visit:
http://safe-environment.archspm.org/report-abuse/Report.

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Pledge to Heal Program

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has established a number of initiatives in their Pledge to Heal program.

Attorney Thomas L. Johnson has volunteered to serve as the ombudsperson for anyone who has questions or concerns in regards to a sexual abuse case involving the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The role of ombudsperson is part of the Settlement Agreement reached with the Ramsey County Attorney’s office in December of 2015 and amended in July of 2016. The ombudsperson is entirely independent of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. For more information on the Ombudsman, please click here.

A Ministerial Review Board (MRB) serves as a confidential, advisory, consultative body to advise the Archbishop and his staff regarding clergy misconduct.  The MRB is made up of at least seven members, with at least five persons who are in full communion with the Church, and the majority of whom will be lay persons who are not in the employ of the Archdiocese. Membership shall include an experienced pastor of the Archdiocese and a lay person with professional experience in the treatment or investigation of sexual abuse of minors. Membership may also include persons with experience or training in ministry, law, victimization, health care, mental health treatment, law enforcement, jurisprudence, human resources, business, management, education or other relevant fields. All members must be of outstanding integrity and good judgment.  For more information on the Ministerial Review Board, click here.

The Office for the Protection of Children and Youth (OPCY) was established and shares with parishes, schools, seminaries, and other Catholic organizations on the best practices for protecting children and creating and maintaining safe environments.  The OPCY adheres to the 2002 U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops Charter for the Protection of Children and the Ramsey County Settlement Agreement dated 12/17/15.  For more information on the Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, please go to Promise to Protect.

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is audited by an independent external audit firm every 18 months.  The first audit was conducted in August, 2017 and the independent auditors found the Archdiocese in substantial compliance with implementing and meeting the Safe Environment Standards agreed to in the Ramsey County Settlement Agreement.