(Vatican Radio) Making the Church a safe place for children and vulnerable adults means having proper protection procedures in place, making sure they are implemented and holding bishops accountable when they are not.
In essence, these are the priorities before the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults which is holding its first full Plenary Assembly since it was set up by Pope Francis in 2013.
Emer McCarthy reports listen:
Speaking to the press Saturday, the Commission President, Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley, said the 17 member Commission’s primary role is to help bishops conferences not just respond to accusations but also to protect minors and vulnerable adults.
To do this the Commission is setting up working groups, with outside consultants, on issues such as outreach to victims, the nature of abuse, Church law governing cases and accountability.
Card. O’ Malley stressed that key to all of the Commissions’ work is collaboration with local churches around the globe and with Vatican dicasteries. One idea being mooted is workshops for people working in the Roman Curia and for new bishops who come to Rome for orientation courses.
Referring to the Holy Father’s recent letter to Bishops and Religious Superiors on this very issue, Card. O’Malley added that each conference will be asked to name a contact person to work with the Commission for Child Protection.
Another area that comes under the Commission’s mandate is to collaborate with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in ensuring that the guidelines for child protection sent in by the bishops conferences follow best practices.
He said “96 % of bishops conferences have sent their child protection guidelines to the Vatican” adding that the Commission will “reach out” to the remaining 4%, most of whom are from developing churches which may lack the adequate resources for the task.
Here the Cardinal underlined that without norms bishops sometimes improvise when faced with accusations of abuse by clergy, mistakes are made and people are hurt.
In this regard, he said the Child Protection Commission is “very, very concerned” about accountability of bishops and working on policy recommendations for the Holy Father’s approval.
These would include consequences for bishops who do not comply with child protection norms, or respond to allegations
Cardinal O’Malley was joined Saturday by Commission member Peter Saunders from South West London. Saunders, a survivor of abuse himself, established NAPAC, the National Association for People Abused in Childhood. He told reporters that the accountability of bishops is a central concern of Child Protection Commission, adding that he came to the Vatican “with trepidation”, but the Commission meeting has given him “hope for change”.
Saunders said “There is a determination that what happened to me and others will not happen again”.
Also present Saturday was Sister Kayula Lesa, a Religious Sister of Charity from Zambia, who has extensive experience in education and in child protection. She added that the Church at all levels must protect all minors from abuse not just within the Church, but also in family and wider society.
To this end, the Commission will propose a Day of Prayer for survivors of abuse, for the Holy Father’s approval.
For the audio of the full Press Conference click here
Full text of the Intervention by Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, OFM Cap.
Thank you for your presence here and especially for your interest in Child Protection. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, sent a very important letter to Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences and to Superiors of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, dated February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple. Even the date of the letter is symbolic as we work to make the Temple a safe place to bring children. By means of the letter the Holy Father is presenting the new commission to the Church’s leadership and inviting them to cooperate in the arduous task of working for the safety of children.
The Holy Father reflects on his own experience of meeting persons who had suffered sexual abuse by priests. He writes, “this experience reaffirmed my conviction that everything possible must be done to rid the Church of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors and to open pathways of reconciliation and healing for those who were abused.”
The Holy Father urges Bishops and Religious Superiors to assure the safety of children and vulnerable adults and to offer survivors and their families pastoral care and provide for psychological assistance. The Holy Father urges Bishops and Religious Superiors to meet with survivors and their loved ones. He says, “ such meetings are valuable opportunities for listening
to those who have greatly suffered and for asking their forgiveness.”
Following on the Holy Father’s letter to the Bishops Conferences, I am writing as President of the Commission to request that each conference name a contact person who can help establish a line of communication with the conferences as well as with Religious Superiors. Pope Francis in his letter has spoken of the Circular Letter of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of May 3, 2011, calling on the Bishops’ Conferences of the world to draw up guidelines for handling cases of sexual abuse of minors by clerics. One of the tasks of the Commission, working with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will be to reach out to help suggest best practices, especially to conferences that are finding it difficult to develop policies. The Commission is also tasked to promote education and child safety programs and to present methods for measuring compliance.
Today I am joined by two of our new members of the Commission. Sister Kayula Lesa, a Religious Sister of Charity from Zambia, has extensive experience in education and in child protection. Sister has worked with refugees and victims of human trafficking, and has served on the African Forum for the Church’s Social Teaching.
We are also joined by Mr. Peter Saunders from South West London. Mr. Saunders established NAPAC, the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, for supporting all survivors and for developing greater resources for responding to child abuse. Yesterday we had the first full day of meetings of the entire seventeen member Commission, with new representation from Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania. I am truly impressed by the wealth of experience and commitment that all the members bring to the Commission.
We are currently working to develop seminars to educate Church leadership in the area of child protection. We hope to offer these programs for members of the Roman Curia and for newly appointed bishops who come to Rome from throughout the world, for orientation programs sponsored by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The Commission is also preparing materials for a Day of Prayer for all those who have been harmed by sexual abuse. Such an activity underscores our responsibility to work for spiritual healing and also helps raise consciousness among the Catholic community about the scourge of child abuse.
We have also begun to reach out to Catholic funding organizations, to ask them to include some requirements concerning child protection in their guidelines for eligibility for funding. Realizing that many of the countries that need to do the most work to advance child protection are also often terribly lacking in resources, we are asking the funding organizations to award grants in these counties for establishing child protection programs and providing training for Church personnel.
The Commission is establishing a series of working groups to call on the expertise of individuals who are not members but can provide us valuable assistance. We have one working group which has been charged with the task of outreach to survivors who might contribute to our efforts by their participation, especially concerning issues of prevention and sound guidelines.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis warned African bishops against new and unscrupulous forms of “colonization” such as the pursuit of success, riches, and power at all costs; but also fundamentalism and the distorted use of religion, and new ideologies that destroy the identity of persons and families. He was speaking to representatives of the Symposium of Episcopal…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See delegation to the United Nations said on Friday “religions and faith-based organizations are partners for sustainable development, and will be potent agents of the achievement of the post-2015 sustainable development goals, as they have been for the MDGs and, indeed, in the history of humanity.” Speaking at a special event…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday (February 7th) urged business leaders to prioritize human dignity, and suggested three ways to do this: Firstly, by moving beyond emergencies to the real priorities, secondly, by being witnesses of charity and thirdly, by acting as custodians and not masters of our planet.
His remarks came in a video message that was broadcast to a gathering of 500 international political and business representatives who were in the Italian city of Milan to discuss the theme: Feeding our planet, Energy for Life. This is the theme chosen for the upcoming International Exhibition Expo 2015 that opens in the northern Italian city in May.
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges:
Referring to his speech at the World Food and Agricultural Organization last November, Pope Francis said the first concern for all of us when considering the issue of agriculture and food production is the human person and all those who are suffering hunger. Once again he deplored the paradox of our modern society where there is enough food for everybody on our planet but not all its inhabitants have access to this food and at the same time the excessive consumption and waste of food and the use of it for other means is there before our eyes. The Pope noted that there are few other issues like hunger that are so likely to be manipulated by governments and the authorities for their own political ends. In order to overcome the temptation of sophisms, he said, “the nominalization of thought which glides over but never touches the reality, I am suggesting three concrete approaches.”
Moving beyond emergencies to the priorities
Pope Francis said instead of going for provisional emergency proposals we must act decisively to “resolve the structural causes of poverty,” remembering that “the root of all evils is inequality.” If we really want to solve these problems and not lose ourselves in sophisms we need to tackle the root causes. And to do this, the Pope stressed, there are urgent choices to make: a rejection of the total autonomy of the markets and of financial speculation.
Be witnesses of charity
Turning to politics which are so often denigrated, Pope Francis asked: what are the starting points for a healthy economic policy and the principle on which political decisions should be based. The answer, he continued, is “the dignity of the human person and the common good.” He urged his audience to be courageous in supporting and upholding this principle in the world of politics to help make the earth’s treasures more accessible for everybody.
Custodians and not masters of the earth
Pope Francis said “our planet is a mother for all of us,” it asks for respect and not violence, or worse still, the arrogance of masters. We must hand it on to our children, cared for and improved, because it’s a loan they make to us. And it’s not just Christians who should adopt this approach for safeguarding our earth, it’s the responsibility of everyone, he said. But in order to do that, pointed out the Pope, we need to take care of ourselves and not be afraid of goodness, or rather tenderness. We need “to safeguard the earth not only with goodness but also with tenderness.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis warned African bishops against new and unscrupulous forms of “colonization” such as the pursuit of success, riches, and power at all costs; but also fundamentalism and the distorted use of religion, and new ideologies that destroy the identity of persons and families. He was speaking to representatives of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
Listen to our report:
Pope Francis told them it is the young people who are the future of Africa, and they need the witness of their pastors. He said the most effective way to overcome the temptation to give in to harmful lifestyles is by investing in education.
“Education will also help to overcome a widespread mentality of injustice and violence, as well as ethnic divisions,” Pope Francis said. “The greatest need is for a model of education which teaches the young to think critically and encourages growth in moral values.”
Pope Francis also warned against a breakdown of the family in Africa, and said the Church is called to evaluate and encourage every initiative to strengthen the family, “which is the real source of all forms of fraternity and the foundation and primary way of peace.”
The Holy Father also praised the work of missionaries and church personnel in helping the elderly and suffering on the continent, giving special mention to those who have given aid in the recent Ebola crisis in west Africa.
Pope Francis praised SECAM for attempting to provide “a common response to the new challenges facing the continent”, allowing the Church to “speak with one voice and to witness to her vocation as a sign and instrument of salvation, peace, dialogue and reconciliation.”
He said to fulfil this mission, it is important that SECAM remain faithful to its identity as “a vibrant experience of communion and of service to the poorest of the poor.”
The full text of Pope Francis’ speech is below the video report
Dear Brother Bishops,
I am pleased to meet with you, the representatives of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, and to encourage your work. SECAM was conceived and developed to be at the service of the local churches in Africa. It seeks to provide a common response to the new challenges facing the continent, allowing the Church to speak with one voice and to witness to her vocation as a sign and instrument of salvation, peace, dialogue and reconciliation. To fulfil this mission, it is important that SECAM remain faithful to its identity as a vibrant experience of communion and of service to the poorest of the poor.
To this end, pastors must remain free from worldly and political concerns, that they continually strengthen the bonds of fraternal communion with the Successor of Peter (through cooperation with the Apostolic Nunciatures), and through easy and direct communication with other Church bodies. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain the simple ecclesial experiences available to all, as well as streamlined pastoral structures. Experience teaches that large bureaucratic structures approach problems in the abstract and risk distancing the Church from people. For this, it is important to be concrete: The concrete can touch reality.
Above all, it is the youth who need your witness: Young people look to us. In Africa, the future is in the hands of the young, who need to be protected from new and unscrupulous forms of “colonization” such as the pursuit of success, riches, and power at all costs; but also fundamentalism and the distorted use of religion, and new ideologies that destroy the identity of persons and families. The most effective way to overcome the temptation to give in to harmful lifestyles is by investing in education. Education will also help to overcome a widespread mentality of injustice and violence, as well as ethnic divisions. The greatest need is for a model of education which teaches the young to think critically and encourages growth in moral values (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 64). An important component in this educational process is the pastoral care of students: in Catholic or public schools there is a need to unite academic studies with the explicit proclamation of the Gospel (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 132-134).
There are various reasons why we are seeing, also in Africa, a trend towards the breakdown of the family. In response, the Church is called to evaluate and encourage every initiative to strengthen the family, which is the real source of all forms of fraternity and the foundation and primary way of peace (cf. JOHN PAUL II, Message for the XXVII World Day of Peace, 1 January 1994). More recently, many priests, men and women religious as well as members of the lay faithful have admirably taken responsibility for the care of families, with a special concern for the elderly, the sick and the handicapped. Even in the most distant and remote regions, your local Churches have proclaimed the Gospel of Life and, following the example of the Good Samaritan, have come to the help of those most in need. A magnificent witness to charity has been given in response to the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus, which has struck many communities, parishes and hospitals. Many African missionaries have generously given their lives by remaining close to those suffering from this disease. This path must be followed with renewed apostolic zeal! As followers of Christ, we cannot fail to be concerned for the welfare of the weakest; we must also draw the attention of society and the civil authorities to their plight.
Dear brothers, I express my appreciation for the invaluable contribution made by so many priests, men and women religious and lay faithful to the proclamation of the Gospel and the social advancement of your people. SECAM is also a means of promoting respect for the law, so as to ensure that the ills of corruption and fatalism may be healed, and to encourage the efforts of Christians in society as a whole, always in view of the common good. The great work of evangelization consists in striving to make the Gospel permeate every aspect of our lives so that we, in turn, can bring it to others. For this reason, it must always be borne in mind that evangelization implies conversion, that is, interior renewal. The process of purification, which is inherent in evangelization, means accepting the call of Christ to “repent and believe the Good News” (cf. Mk 1:15). As a result of this conversion to salvation, not only individuals but the entire ecclesial community is transformed, and becomes an ever greater and more vital expression of faith and charity.
May the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit sustain your pastoral efforts. May the Virgin Mary protect you and intercede for you and for the entire continent of Africa. To each of you, I give my Apostolic Blessing. Please pray for me.
(from Vatican Radio)…