USCCB official stresses consistency in his training to local Safe Environment personnel
Deacon Bernie Nojadera, executive director of the USCCB's Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, addresses attendees at Safe Environment Coordinator University on October 23, 2025 at St. Patrick Cathedral parish hall. (NTC/Juan Guajardo)
FORT WORTH — More than 20 years working in safe environment and victim accompaniment on local, state, national, and international levels has given Deacon Bernie Nojadera a wealth of experience in the best practices to safeguard children and vulnerable adults from harm and abuse.
Since 2011, he has served as the executive director of the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, based in Washington, D.C.
For two days in October, he shared his wisdom with the Diocese of Fort Worth.
Dcn. Nojadera was the highlighted speaker for this year’s Safe Environment Coordinator University, the fourth annual one-day workshop held in the Diocese of Fort Worth for parish and school safe environment coordinators.
Later that day, he was interviewed on the diocesan podcast: Lights, Catholic, Action!
The following day, he talked with diocesan staff, the conduct review board, and other interested volunteers, where he emphasized the importance of taking safety seriously.
His approach to safe environment policy and enforcement is influenced by his years in military service — the former marine still serves as an executive officer in the Maryland Defense Force. To create a culture of safety and protection, he enumerated the need for situational awareness; mission clarity; discipline in execution; access to administrative and logistical support; and command and control — approaches which apply to accomplishing both military and safe environment objectives.
His message, in a word, is consistency.
“If you realize and see an allegation of something that’s untoward, you do not hesitate because you have been trained, you have drilled. It’s muscle memory. You’re able to make the call, and you’re able to do so with confidence because you’ve been empowered,” he said.
“We have to realize the consistency of safe environment training, the implementation of background checks — it’s a continual work of creating a mindset, an attitude,” he continued.
Diocesan Director of Safe Environment Sandra Schrader-Farry, her staff, and safe environment coordinators and facilitators work to create a safe environment mindset among the 92 parishes and 17 schools of the diocese.
Currently, 207 volunteer facilitators teach safe environment training sessions, offering 974 training sessions in 2024. More than 47,000 adults in the diocese have been trained and vetted.
“We have to be ever vigilant,” said Schrader-Farry. “We have to make sure we keep up with providing our parishioners and providing our [school] families with the best information on prevention and how to recognize signs and symptoms of abuse, how to recognize warning signs in our youth as well as potentially in the people that they interact with.”
Inviting Dcn. Nojadera, who speaks nationally and internationally on the topic, to address diocesan safe environment coordinators reinforces the importance of their role, Schrader-Farry said.
Although safe environment coordinators work behind the scenes at parishes and schools, Schrader-Farry underscored the importance of their work, “being that first line of defense in the parishes and schools, making sure that the people who are coming in, who are engaging in a ministry, are vetted and trained and are the right people.”
“Respecting the dignity of the human person and protecting their safety is our first priority,” she concluded.