Virtus Training

“Protecting God’s Children”

The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (The Charter) promulgated by the Bishops of the United States in 2002 outlines specific practices and guidelines providing standards of safety in parishes and dioceses throughout the United States. As directed in The Charter, the Diocese of Rockville Centre requires all employees, clergy, and volunteers to complete the following requirements within thirty days of employment or volunteering:

  • Attend a Protecting God’s Children training session, a LIVE, interactive workshop with facilitation that is done in person.
  • Electronically acknowledge the Diocesan Code of Conduct, which is provided during the Virtus registration process.
  • Follow the instructions to complete the Sterling Volunteers background screening application background offered during the Virtus registration process.

St. Christopher’s Parish offers training sessions on a regular basis. Please be sure to register for any session beforehand as follows:

1. Go to www.virtus.org and select “First-time Registrant”

  • If you already have an account, this is also where you can also sign in and access.
  • If you are unsure if you have an account, please contact the Virtus helpdesk at 1-888-847-8870 for assistance before proceeding.

2. Then click “begin the registration process”

3. Select organization via the drop-down menu — For all parish volunteers the organization is “Rockville Centre, NY – Safe Environment (Diocese)”

4. Select “No” to the question, “Have you previously registered with VIRTUS Online?” (If your answer is yes, you must recover your login and will not be able to proceed)

5. Now you will be prompted to create a user ID and password.

  • It is recommended that you make a secure password of at least 8 characters with at least one capital letter, number, and special character.

6. Now you will fill out your profile. Answer the questions/fields to the best of your ability.

  • Please be specific about your role/title (e.g. do not just state “volunteer,” but state in which area, such as, catechist, coach, usher, etc.)
  • Please include all parishes/diocesan entities you will be volunteering in beginning with your primary one.
  • During the process you will also have to digitally acknowledge our two codes of conduct. It is recommended that you also download, print, and review them asap.
  • If asked, make sure to check off that you will be working with minors if you will be (religious ed catechists and CYO coaches must check yes for this).

7. At the end of making your profile, you will select which Virtus session you would like to attend

  • Please make sure to see if there are any notes (like session conducted in another language) before committing to a date and location
  • You do NOT have to register for a session being conducted in the parish in which you plan to volunteer.

8. Once you register for a Virtus session, you will be prompted to proceed to the Background Screening Platform

  • Your email will be carried over from the Virtus application and you will need to create another account with this email and a new password.
  • Follow the prompts to include your name, social security number, contact information, and current and previous addresses.

9. Once you have successfully completed the background check application, your full profile will be complete and all that there will be left to do is attend the Virtus workshop. Once that happens, you will be fully Safe Environment Compliant.

Please call the Parish Office at 516-223-0723 if you have any questions.