Seminar on Child Protection – Day 4: Dialogue with the Church and other Religious Institutions
The fourth day of the Seminar on Child Protection, 20 March, begun with the prayer by Brother Greg McDonald (Star of the Sea) centered on the Gospel (Mark 10:14): “For it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs,” We were invited to take a moment to reflect while listening to “Salve, Regina.” Following a reading from the Gospel (Mark 10:13-16), where Jesus blesses little children, we had a moment for our own intentions for the day.
Starting the day’s journey with Dialogue with the Church and other Religious Institutions, Brother Óscar Martín, General Councilor, provided space for three areas of dialogue: what the institution and the Church have done in the last decade, testimonies from other parts of the world, and time to reflect in groups.
Looking back, Br Óscar shared important steps taken by the Church in the last decade. The formation of the Pontifical Commission for Child Protection, established in 2015, aimed to improve norms and procedures for protecting minors and vulnerable adults. In 2019, there was a shift in mindset towards prevention, with Pope Francis prioritizing protection for victims. The ‘Vos est Lux mundi’ (You are the Light of the World) was first produced, emphasizing the need for continuous conversation to prevent sexual abuse. In 2022, the ‘Praedicate Evangelium’ (Preach the Gospel) established a permanent structure to address abuse cases. The 2023 version of ‘Vos estis lux mundi – Motu Proprio’ outlines the responsibilities for bishops, provincials, and lay members, offering broader protections for abuse victims.
Br. Óscar went on to share the Marist Brothers’ journey, beginning in 2012 with their first official protocol being launched. International gatherings of provincials on safeguarding were facilitated, and teams were developed to advise the 22nd General Chapter, shaping the Marist culture and commitment to child protection, not only to address abuse but also to prevent it.
New constitutions stated that the well-being, safety, and protection of children and young people are a high priority and primary responsibility of everyone. The latest standards and protocols were designed to prevent abuse, enhance culture, promote the empowerment of children, encourage and facilitate child protection, and improve responses to allegations.
Inter-congregational work
The morning led onto the importance of inter-congregational work. Time was offered to hear three testimonies from different jurisdictions. Brother Peter Rodney (Australia) shared about the complexities of a province across 11 countries, 10 bishops’ conferences, and 31 dioceses. Brother Gabriel Villa-Real (L’Hermitage) spoke about experiences of working with other entities and institutions to allow the voices of others to be heard. A good point was raised that, “Identifying fear in others is easy, but not so easy in ourselves.” Sometimes we can be afraid of not getting it right; collaborating allows us to identify this and grow. Sandro Bobrzyk (Brasil Sul-Amazônia) shared his experiences of focusing on prevention as a pivotal part of their ministry by developing a commission consisting of eight members across various fields of expertise, including civil entities such as the police.
These testimonies support the importance of the Marist Brothers International Commission for Child Protection, collecting experiences from across the institute to take into the next phase of growth. It also reflected yesterday’s message Br. Fortune shared: “Walking alone you travel fast, walking together you travel far.”
Monitoring Child Safeguarding Protocols
Elizabeth Gallagher (Star of the Sea) took us into the early afternoon. Her presentation, ‘Monitoring Child Safeguarding Protocols’ was centered around compliance, policy, code of conduct, and monitoring.
Compliance can become a long list of “what I have to do” but should also include the voice of our hearts: “What should I do?” As a group, we took a moment to share our own experiences of compliance and where directions come from within our own practices.
Clear direction can come from policy, but each country needs to have its own policy to contextualize its own jurisdiction. Universally, you would expect to find in a policy a purpose that provides the why, references to any laws or legal requirements, definitions (because these can be determined differently across cultures and contexts), as well as the application of the policy, reporting allegations, offering care, and formation or education. The policy must also be subject to renewal because legislation, requirements, and understandings change often.
Elizabeth shared the importance of a robust code of conduct to offer the “how” to implement our policy and provide a commitment to the culture and expectations of our communities. Groups were asked to share their “do’s and don’ts” from their localized code of conduct.
Liz concluded by sharing that monitoring is not only the responsibility of the provincial but also the administrative units of each province and is an important process to allow growth.
Safeguarding and Child Rights
The final session, ‘The Intersection of Safeguarding and Child Rights,’ was presented by Brother Diego Zawadzky (Secretariat of Solidarity-Cmi, General Administration). We were invited to see the world through the eyes of poor children. If we want to evangelize the poor, we have to understand and see through their eyes.
Four speakers, Mónica Gabriela Yerena Suárez (México Central), Brother Fortune Chakasara (Southern Africa), Elizabeth Gallagher (Star of the Sea), and Fernando Domínguez del Toro (Mediterránea) shared initiatives across Marist provinces that reflect human rights for children. These include allowing children to participate in policy development and providing access to education and resources that reflect cultural needs, particularly around indigenous populations.
Andrea Rossi (FMSI – General Administration) took the second part of the session to discuss, firstly, the intersection of safeguarding and child rights, why it is relevant in the Marist institute, and how child rights and child safeguarding are already part of the Marist DNA.
Andrea further shared about the Universal Periodic Review (UPR): a mechanism of the Human Rights Council where each UN Member State undergoes a peer review of its human rights. UPR reports shine a spotlight on children, their voice, their rights, and their needs.
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Jonathan Sankey – Star of the Sea