Protect
Learn more about our commitment to transparency and accountability and creating a safe environment for children and adults.
“We need to feel the responsibility to protect every child as if he or she was our own son or daughter, our own niece or nephew, our own brother or sister.”
-Archbishop Gomez
As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability, you can use this webpage to learn about the Archdiocese’s efforts to prevent abuse and to support victim-survivors. You can also learn about our Code of Conduct, protocols for reporting and investigating suspected abuse by those serving in the Archdiocese and for removing offenders from ministry.
It is because of the hard work and dedication of our Safeguard the Children Program staff, and the hundreds of thousands of employees, volunteers, clergy and lay faithful who have participated in the program, new cases of abuse are rare today in the Church in Los Angeles. We remain vigilant in our commitment to protect children and report allegations and remove perpetrators from ministry.
In our ongoing ministry to accompany victim-survivors, we have recently dedicated three Healing Gardens. Inspiration for the garden came largely from a victim-survivor who has worked with Victims Assistance Ministry for many years – he taught horticulture and landscape design in the L.A. Unified School District for 30+ years and shared his experience and vision with us in planning these simple but important gardens. Learn more here.
Are you a victim-survivor?
Our Team and Resources are Here for you
The Office of Victims Assistance Ministry of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was created in April of 2002 to deal with allegations of past or current sexual abuse by clergy, religious or any lay person working or volunteering for the Archdiocese. The Office is charged with creating a safe and compassionate environment for victims to come forward while ensuring that civil authorities are notified and victims are provided with counseling and other assistance in the healing process.
Need to report abuse?
Responding to an Allegation of Suspected Child Abuse
The following forms and documents are for reporting child abuse. If you have any questions regarding these forms, please call the Archdiocesan Victims Assistance Office at (213) 637-7650 or our toll-free number (800)-355-2545.
Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service
In May 2019, Pope Francis released his apostolic letter, Vos estis lux mundi (“You are the light of the world”) to address the issue of sexual abuse and bishop accountability in the global Catholic Church. Vos estis calls upon the metropolitan archbishops to undertake the responsibilities for receiving and assessing reports involving bishops that pertain to sexual abuse and related misconduct. The Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting Service (CBAR) offers a toll-free phone and online reporting service to receive reports regarding sexual abuse involving bishops.
Get to know more about our prevention efforts.
Safe Environment Education and Training
The Office of Safeguard the Children provides ongoing support, education, training and resources to help prevent child sexual abuse and to address children’s safety in our parishes, schools, homes and communities. We offer programs for Adults and Children as outlined on this webpage.
Did you Know?
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles provides parishes with ongoing resources to strengthen our prevention efforts. Use this webpage to see the weekly resources provided to our parishes for helping to make our schools, families and communities safer for our children.
Policies and procedures for interacting with minors
Explore our guidelines for adults interacting with minors at parish or parish school activities or events. The resources are available in English and Spanish.
Fingerprinting
All clergy, paid parish/school personnel and volunteers who work regularly in a supervisory role with children or youth must be fingerprinted. For more information visit this webpage or call us at: (213) 637-7680.
A history of transparency.
Report to the People of God
On February 17, 2004, the Archdiocese published its Report to the People of God: Clergy Sexual Abuse Archdiocese of Los Angeles 1930-2003. It reaffirmed the Archdiocese’s commitment to develop and maintain best practices to deal with incidents of alleged misconduct and provide support to victim-survivors. The Report, which included a list of known publicly or credibly accused clergy, was an essential part of the Archdiocese’s ongoing effort to promote healing and reconciliation for victims, their families and their Church community. As an expression of our commitment to transparency and support for victim-survivors, the list of names of clergy credibly or publicly accused of misconduct with minors in the original 2004 Report to the People of God was updated in 2005, 2008, 2018 and as allegations were presented as part of the Independent Compensation Program for Victims of Abuse by Diocesan Clergy (ICP) which began in 2019 and ended in 2021. The consolidated list includes names of clergy with allegations that are found credible by the independent Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board, along with allegations that are found to be plausible if the priest was dead or had left the Archdiocese when the allegation was made. The most recent list can be found here.
Safe Environment Reports and Audits
While the past cannot be changed, the Archdiocese is committed to learning from it. With millions trained in abuse prevention in our Archdiocese alone, we remain vigilant against all that would harm our children and young people. The Archdiocese has been compliant with all national independent audits of abuse prevention efforts. The audit results by year, the Clergy Files report as part of the 2007 global settlement and other resources on the abuse prevention efforts can be found at the following link.
Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board
The Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board (CMOB) was established in 2002 as part of the implementation of the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and the Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons that mandated that every archdiocese establish an independent board to review allegations against priests and deacons of sexual misconduct or abuse involving minors, and to advise the diocesan bishop and vicar for clergy on dealing with such matters.
Please help stop sexual misconduct in our communities by reporting to law enforcement and the Office of Victims Assistance of the Archdiocese at (800) 355-2545.
Archdiocesan Administrative Handbook
Chapter 9 – Safe Environment
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