Child Safety Standards

These standards apply to Vespers, a communication platform for parishes published by Lucernarium LLC. They set out our prohibition on child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE), how to report a concern to us, and how we respond.

Our prohibition

Child sexual abuse and exploitation is absolutely prohibited on Vespers. This includes, without limitation:

• Child sexual abuse material (CSAM), in any form, whether real, generated, or altered.
• Sexualisation of a minor, including sexualised commentary about a minor or the sexualised depiction of a minor.
• Grooming, sextortion, solicitation of a minor, or any attempt to arrange sexual contact with a minor.
• Trafficking of a minor, or the advertisement, promotion, or facilitation of any of the above.

These prohibitions apply to every person using Vespers, without exception, and are additional to the terms of service and to the safeguarding policies of the parish or diocese a user belongs to.

How Vespers is designed to reduce risk

Vespers is not an open social network. Its structure is intended to remove the conditions in which grooming and exploitation typically occur online:

• No strangers. Access is by invitation only. Parishes provision accounts for their own members. There is no public sign-up, no discovery of users outside a parish, and no matching with unknown people.
• No unsupervised adult–minor conversation. Any direct conversation involving a minor requires two vetted adults to be present. This is enforced when a conversation is created, when participants are added or leave, and at the moment each message is sent. It cannot be overridden by an administrator.
• Identity is known. Participants are known members of a parish community, not anonymous or pseudonymous accounts.
• A minimum age of 13. Vespers is not offered to children under 13.
• Guardians have a defined role in their children's participation.

Reporting a concern

To report a concern to us directly:

• Child safety contact — Lucernarium LLC Michael Stack, Founder
  security@lucernarium.org

Concerns may also be raised with the parish or diocesan safeguarding coordinator, who can escalate to us.

We aim to acknowledge reports of child safety concerns promptly and to prioritise them above all other categories of report.

How we respond

• On becoming aware of apparent child sexual abuse material on the platform, we remove it, preserve the associated records as required, and report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) in accordance with our obligations under United States law.
• We suspend or terminate the access of any person who violates these standards, and notify the relevant parish or diocesan authority.
• We cooperate with law enforcement and with lawful requests relating to child safety investigations.
• We comply with applicable child safety and children's privacy laws in the jurisdictions where Vespers is offered.

Review

These standards are reviewed periodically and updated as the product and the applicable legal landscape change.

Last updated: 18 July 2026