Office of Victim Assistance & Safe Environment (OVASE)
OVASE is the primary contact point for anyone who has been abused by clergy or church personnel. The office provides pastoral care, including individual, group, and spiritual counseling, to anyone who has been abused. OVASE is also responsible for implementing an abuse prevention program throughout the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Please call OVASE if you need assistance reporting abuse, seeking guidance about a situation in a school or parish, need information about reporting laws, need a referral for a service provider, or to discuss any concerns. Every call is handled personally and confidentially.
- Resources: Visit the Resources page for links to the Parent Handbook and the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
- Victim Assistance and Reporting Abuse: Click here for information on victim assistance and reporting abuse.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Learn about Child Abuse Prevention Month, types of abuse, how to report abuse in the archdiocese, and download activity sheets below.
- About Child Abuse Prevention Month (USCCB)
- Types of Abuse
- Reporting Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of San Antonio
Activity Sheets:
Safe Environment Training through Virtus
Per the Code of Conduct, the Archdiocese of San Antonio requires 3 trainings:
Sexual Harassment Training: Sexual harassment training is required for clergy, candidates for ordination, employees, and adult volunteers. This training must be renewed every three years.
Protecting God’s Children: Protecting God’s Children is required for clergy, candidates for ordination, employees, and adult volunteers who minister to children/youth. This training must be renewed every three years.
Vulnerable Adults Training: Vulnerable adults training is required for clergy, candidates for ordination, employees, and adult volunteers who minister to adult vulnerable populations. This training must be renewed every three years.
Complete the Training using Virtus
To complete the training, the Archdiocese of San Antonio is currently using Virtus. Virtus provides traditional on-site training, on-line training, and on-line renewal training.
- To register for a training or to conduct the online training, click here.
- If you have already registered and need to complete a training or renewal, click here and enter your User ID and Password. If you have forgotten your ID or Password, contact OVASE.
For questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Victim Assistance & Safe Environment at 210-734-7786 or [email protected].
Criminal Background Check Forms
Clergy, candidates for Ordination, and employees are required to undergo a criminal background check in accordance with the Norms Governing Criminal Background Checks and is required to be renewed every three (3) years. Additionally, lay church personnel with contact with minors or vulnerable populations are also required to undergo a criminal background check in accordance with the Norms Governing Criminal Background Checks and is required to be renewed every three (3) years.
Criminal background checks are conducted through Virtus.
A printable Criminal Background Check form for parish use can be found on the Forms page.
Code of Conduct
On May 28, 2019, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller promulgated the Code of Conduct. Church Personnel in our parishes, religious communities/institutes, schools, agencies, and youth serving agencies must exemplify Christian values and appropriate conduct. The Code of Conduct provides a set of standards for conduct in certain situations. Within the pretense or context of a ministry relationship, certain behaviors and situations are unacceptable. To ensure the proper monitoring of activities, especially those pertaining to youth and vulnerable adults, this Code of Conduct intends to establish a balance between encouraging positive and appropriate interactions and hindering inappropriate and/or potentially harmful or unsafe interactions. Establishing standards of conduct with this balance in mind assists in creating and maintaining environments where there is no opportunity for sexual misconduct or other harmful acts.
Download the Code of Conduct on the Resources page.
To report violations against the Code of Conduct, please contact the Archdiocesan Misconduct Hotline: 844-709-1169.
