Pope Leo XIV sends a message to a meeting of the Italian Bishops' Conference on safeguarding minors, and pledges the Church's commitment to better protect minors and vulnerable adults.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov "The presence of the smallest and most vulnerable challenges the conscience of the Church and measures its ability to express authentic care." Pope Leo XIV expressed this in a message to participants in the Second National Meeting of Local Representatives for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, organized by the Italian Bishops' Conference. Recognizing and safeguarding every person and their dignity In his letter, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the Pope noted that the theme, “Generating Authentic Relationships,” points to an essential task for Christian communities. "When every person is recognized in their dignity and safeguarded in their freedom, parishes, associations, and movements are reliable and capable of accompanying, educating, and protecting," he said, adding that "where respect is lacking, relationships become impoverished, distorted, and may cause serious harm." In the Christian vision, he noted, respect is not merely correctness, but "a demanding form of charity, expressed in safeguarding others without possessing them, accompanying them without dominating them, and serving them without humiliating them." He said this respect gives rise to the possibility of clear, mature, and secure relationships. "For this reason," he insisted, "protection cannot be understood merely as a set of rules to apply or procedures to follow: it requires wisdom that shapes the style of communities, the exercise of authority, the formation of educators, vigilance over contexts, and transparency of behavior." Challenge to the conscience of the Church "The presence of the smallest and most vulnerable," Pope Leo insisted, "challenges the conscience of the Church and measures its ability to express authentic care—that is, to protect, to listen, to prevent, and to leave no one alone." "The work of those who promote formation, discernment, coordination, and good practices," the Pope added, "represents a precious contribution to the growth of more welcoming and aware communities." Thus, he called for the Church to give special attention to those who have suffered abuse, acknowledging that "their wounds call for sincere proximity, humble listening, and perseverance in seeking what is right and possible for repair." Need to accept demanding paths of truth, justice and healing He explained that a Christian community lives the evangelical conversion "when it does not shield itself from the pain of those who have suffered, but allows itself to be questioned by it; when it does not minimize evil, but acknowledges it; when it does not close in fear of scandal, but accepts the demanding paths of truth, justice, and healing." Therefore, he noted, the meeting organized by the Italian Bishops' Conference "takes on a significance that goes beyond operational matters, calling the Church to grow in a culture of prevention that is, above all, a culture of evangelical care. This will also be supported by the performance presented in preview at your conference: “And I Will Care for You.” Finally, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the meeting's participants to continue their work with confidence, "so that communities in the Italian dioceses may grow in which the most fragile are welcomed, protected, and loved."