We want our church community AND our neighborhood community to be among the safest places for children youth and other vulnerable populations.
We ask everyone involved in our parish to continually be alert to creating a safe environment for all. For anyone who volunteers in any capacity, they must complete the child protection protocols of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
The Diocese is charged with the responsibility of making sure that all laity and clergy who work or volunteer in any Church-sponsored ministry or organization, or members of any group that meets on Church property, have completed the three steps required by the National Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People:
• Sign a Code of Conduct
• Complete a Background Screening
• Attend a VIRTUS child protection Training Session (online or in person)
The diocese has shifted to an all on-line access system where individuals can access and update their own records and requirements. As part of this process, they are reviewing all volunteer records, and re-screening many people whose records are older than five years. They are also requiring that a Code of Conduct be signed each year. Those who have not yet taken the VIRTUS Child Protection Training session must do so.
New Volunteers: you must complete the three steps above. Go to www.virtus.org and create an account, and follow the prompts. They will guide you to the Code of Conduct, the Background Screening and to the VIRTUS training session sign-ups. Please enter "Diocese of Rockville Centre" when asked for training locations. Notify us when you have finished all requirements by emailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and you will then be able to begin as a volunteer or as a member of a parish organization.
Continuing Volunteers: Please follow up at www.virtus.org to ensure that you are up to date, especially if you were certified more than five years ago. We are asking that you do this at the migration to an online system may have caused some records in the Diocese to be incomplete. If you have attended a VIRTUS training session in the past, you should already have an account. Please log on or create a new account if you don't have one. You will be asked to sign/update the Code of Conduct. It will be noted in your record if you completed VIRTUS training. If the record is incomplete, you may submit your certificate of completion as proof of your training. If you do not have your certificate, you may have to re-take the training.
If you do not update your record, you will be prompted via email from virtus.org to sign a new Code of Conduct. If your screening is more than five years old, you will also be prompted to complete the Sterling Volunteers Background Screening Application online. Please make sure to respond to this email as it is required.
If you have any problem accessing, creating, reading or editing your VIRTUS account, please contact Gretchen at 1-888-847-8870 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
