The Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Martin de Porres take very seriously our responsibility to protect all persons to whom we minister, especially children. Since 1979, when our Province was founded, we have had specific policies to protect children and to respond to allegations of child sexual abuse. This is a summary of our current policy.

New Candidates for Admission / Vocations

All candidates for admission to the Province undergo a thorough screening process and extensive training including:

• A psychological evaluation including a psycho-sexual history conducted by a licensed psychologist;
• A criminal background check in every state and county in which the candidate has resided during the past ten years and a national sex offender registry check;
• A social media usage and background screening conducted by an independent company;
• Six written references and several in-person interviews;
• Eight years of initial formation which includes training in the proper integration of human sexuality, development of the virtue of chastity, and annual evaluations;
• An initial training program in child protection at the beginning of formation and continuing education training each year.

Reporting and Help

• All who have suffered sexual abuse are encouraged to report such abuse to their local law enforcement agencies.
• Anyone who is aware that a member of our Province has acted inappropriately with a child or who has concerns that they wish to bring to the attention of the Province may contact our Victim Assistance Coordinator, Fr. Victor Laroche, O.P. (504-837-2129  /  vlaroche@opsouth.org).

Zero Tolerance

• No friar with a credible allegation of child abuse is ever allowed in public ministry under any circumstances.
• Any friar who is accused is placed on administrative leave while the allegation is investigated.
• Any novice or student friar in simple vows who is credibly accused or who exhibits any inappropriate tendencies toward children will not continue in formation.

Child Protection Accreditation

Our child protection efforts are audited by Praesidium, an outside, independent audit service.

• The accreditation process includes site visits and inspections, interviews of Provincial leadership and members of the provincial review board, review of records for our screening, child protection, and training, and a review of each allegation received since the last accreditation.
• On July 23, 2019, the Province was reaccredited meeting all 25 Praesidium standards of accreditation with no corrections or notations.

Praesidium accreditation publicly demonstrates that the Province of St. Martin de Porres (Southern Dominican Province) has achieved the highest standard in child abuse prevention, consistent with the directives articulated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Conference of Major Superiors of Men. To learn more about the process of accreditation, visit  Praesidium’s website.