working together to keep our parish children safe

Our Lady of the Assumption Church is deeply committed to being a welcoming and safe place for children to grow in knowledge and love of God. To this end our community works in collaboration with the Office of Safe Environments of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

This page is offered as a resource to all who wish to be a part of this collaboration.

Protecting All Children™ for Adults

Every member of church staff, every pariish volunteer and every contractor hired by us to work on our premises, even those not in direct contact with minors, undergo a background check and receive Virtus training from the diocese of Bridgeport.

Parents, while not required are encouraged to take advantage of the training. There are two great reasons to do so:

1. You will learn how to recognize if someone who works with your child is behaving suspiciously. You will leave feeling empowered to protect your children anywhere.
2. As more people in our Diocese receive this training we will have increased numbers of eyes and ears that can spot problems and know when and how to alert the proper authorities. This will not only possibly alleviate a child’s suffering it may even prevent it.

The class is free. It is offered frequently throughout the Diocese. (remote learning is currently offered) You can find out more about when there are classes and how to go about registering for one by visiting the Diocese of Bridgeport website where you will also find other resources for parents. DO take a look.https://www.bridgeportdiocese.org/safe-environments/virtus/

Teaching Safety

Furthermore the diocese offers training for children. This training is carefully created to be developmentally appropriate. Age specifiic videos are an integral part of the presentations. Parents will be notifiied ahead of time whenever this training is scheduled to be offered to their child in a classroom setting. Parents are encouraged to watch the videos and are always offered the choice to opt out of classroom presentation to their children.

Link to videos: https://www.bridgeportdiocese.org/safe-environments/safe-environment-for-parents-and-children/