News - January 2025 RSS Feed

We, the participants of the Conference on Safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Europe, held in Rome from 13-15 November 2024, come together with a shared commitment to enhance the protection and safety of all individuals within our communities – especially children and vulnerable adults. Recognizing the diverse cultural contexts across Europe, we emphasize the importance of fostering a common language of safeguarding that respects these differences and of working collaboratively to eliminate the many forms of abuse through institutional and community conversion.

Drawing on Roman Catholic and ecumenical expertise, this article takes an honest look at the experiences and hopes of those abused. Many in the churches assume that victims seek financial compensation or legal redress. However, research indicates that many victims primarily seek truth and justice as a means of closure and that their struggles with church leadership arise when truth and justice are repeatedly withheld. This makes forgiveness near-impossible and often results in the victim being re-traumatized by the systemic re-abuse they experience. Ultimately, there is no substitute for full and genuine meeting with victims, which requires the church to lay aside its power and authority and engage with humility and proper deference to the victims abused at the hands of the church. Without such openness, the victims cannot move on, and neither can the churches.

Francesca Mani was 14-years-old when her name was called over the loudspeaker at Westfield High School in New Jersey. She headed to the principal's office, where she learned that a picture of her had been turned into a nude image using artificial intelligence.

Over the past 20 years, the number of abuse allegations against Catholic clergy has dropped, according to a new report from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). In November 2004, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) commissioned CARA conduct an annual survey of all of the dioceses and eparchies whose bishops are members of the USCCB.

Pope Francis often reminds Catholics of our role in caring for the vulnerable and persons living with a disability, confirming the Church's commitment to all members of the faith. He has specifically announced that the Church "must meet people's needs for belonging, relating to others and cultivating their spiritual lives so they experience the fullness and blessing of the Lord' for the 'unique and marvelous gift' that they are." Pope Francis described the Church's pledge to focus on inclusion as "each person, with his or her limitations and gifts, feels encouraged to do his or her part for the good of the entire ecclesial body and for the good of society as a whole." Pope Francis reminds us that "there can be no us and them, but a single us, with Jesus Christ at the center…" There are several Church documents that provide us with a greater understanding of how we are to help vulnerable adults in our pledge to include them in all facets of Church life, regardless of whether we encounter them in our specific ministries. These include the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (Charter), which specifically addresses how dioceses are to establish and maintain safe environments for children—and later included a revision involving vulnerable adults. Other documents include Vos Estis Lux Mundi and the updates to Canon Law. While we have these definitions and examples to guide us, we should personally consider how we recognize whether someone is a vulnerable adult, as they may not share certain characteristics or circumstances that demonstrate their potential vulnerability. And, we should further reflect on how we can be sensitive to those with disabilities or vulnerabilities while respecting their needs and abilities.