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WELCOME

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I want to express my profound gratitude to the people of the Church of San Bernardino for the very serious and persistent manner in which we have dedicated ourselves to the protection of children and young people in our diocese. They are the future of our Catholic communities and we must guard their safety and healthy maturation with constant attention.

While we will always carry with us the pain of the crisis that brought us to this ministry, we embrace our call today to leadership in prevention and healing of child abuse. We do this in collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the other dioceses in our nation under the guidance of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that was adopted in 2002 and revised in 2005.

The Charter is the foundation of our own Diocesan Safe Environment AND Code of Pastoral Conduct that allows us to address the issue of child and youth protection as a daily ministry. It guides our efforts in the areas of security, education, pastoral outreach and healing.

Whether or not this policy is lived in our diocese, of course, depends on our commitment to take it seriously and follow it faithfully. I am grateful for the widespread commitment to our policy that I have seen at the parish level over the past seven years, as evidenced by USCCB audits that have found us to be in full compliance with the Charter. I ask you to continue to be ever vigilant in protecting our children by following this policy comprehensively and completely.

May God continue to bless us in this ministry and let us answer His call willingly and with conviction.

Yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes