Letter of Support for Safe Environment Training and Background Checks
(Bishop Steven Biegler, January 4, 2024)

As a faith-filled people, we respect and value each and every individual, as we are created in the image and likeness of God. The Diocese of Cheyenne is committed to creating a safe environment where all of God’s family—children, their parents and relatives, parish and school personnel, volunteers, clergy and diocesan personnel—will be able to work, live, and play in an environment where healthy and responsible relationships prevail.

What We Do

The Safe Environment Office of the Diocese of Cheyenne educates clergy, employees, and those volunteers who interact with minors on how to be aware of and help prevent sexual abuse and all abuses, recognize grooming behaviors, and create safe environments for children and young people in our parishes, schools, and communities. In addition, the Safe Environment Office is responsible for tracking the screening of clergy, employees, and those volunteers who interact with minors.

Creating a Safe Environment in the Diocese of Cheyenne

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter)

The Charter is a comprehensive set of norms established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in June 2002 that addresses allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy. The Charter also includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability, and prevention of future acts of abuse. The Charter’s policies and procedures were reviewed and revised in 2011 and 2018. (More information on The Charter is at left.)

The Diocese of Cheyenne has implemented a comprehensive safe environment program that includes all employees and those volunteers working with minors as well as all students in our parishes and schools.

Maintaining Compliance with the Charter

For Adults: The following requirements must be met prior to employment or volunteer service for those who interact with minors and/or vulnerable adults:

• Safe environment education
• State and national background checks, repeated at least every five years
• Acknowledge that they have received and read:

 

For Children: All children in grades K-12 in Catholic schools and religious education programs are required to receive safe environment education. This is NOT sex education. Because of the value and dignity of human life, it is important that children are taught about personal safety, awareness, and boundaries.

Contact

Tammy Skala
Administrator of Safe Environment Training
[email protected]
307-638-1530 x113

(email links are disabled for security. Please copy and paste into your email program.)

Bishop Steven Biegler

In the the June 2019 Wyoming Catholic Register, we made  public a list of all Catholic clergy with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable persons for whom we have files and who were in active ministry from 1950 to the present in the Diocese of Cheyenne. Our clergy are expected to be shepherds who guard and protect the flock, especially the least among us. They are called to imitate the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. Therefore, sexual abuse by clergy is an appalling sin and a reprehensible crime. It contradicts everything we stand for. Each name on this list represents a betrayal of trust, a violation of the innocent, and a human tragedy.