Safeguarding: the participation of the whole Church is necessary
«The Church’s enduring response to abuse requires more than structural reforms: it demands
active participation of all, at all levels of ecclesial life.» This could be one of the key phrases of the second Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding . In its comprehensive and detailed Report, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors documents its findings and recommendations for 2024, thanking Pope Leo XIV for his full support in this work.
A second key phrase could be this: «Victims should be central to our priorities.» For this reason, the direct listening to the victims and the survivors of abuse has been expanded in this second report. «Al di là del ruolo limitato e spesso insufficiente del risarcimento finanziario, in un approccio integrale alla riparazione sono fondamentali strumenti di riparazione come i seguenti:
- assurances of welcoming listening centres for victims /survivors to be heard and believed by Church authorities
- the provision of professional psychological support services
- public acknowledgements and apologies
- proactive and transparent communication with victims/survivors to provide timely updates on their cases
- the inclusion of victims /survivors in the development of the Church’s safeguarding policies and procedures.»
During the presentation of the Report to the press, emphasis was placed on the ongoing dialogue between the Commission and the bishops’ conferences around the world, focusing primarily on prevention, transparency and applicable protection procedures. The availability of safe spaces is important in order to manage situations in a preventive manner.
The cultural delays in many countries and the resistance to addressing situations and listening to people who have suffered abuse have not been concealed. Professionalism and structured dialogue are needed in local services, because victims or survivors often feel that they are not being adequately accompanied and report a lack of respect. There is also a need for a clearer canonical procedure for the dismissal and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence. However, there is widespread awareness of these delays and serious efforts are being made to acquire the necessary skills.
With regard to communication, this is a critical issue highlighted above all by victims, who always recall the suffering caused by the lack of transparency at the level of the universal Church and the local churches. The importance of developing training and information programmes for families on educational rights was also noted.
In the Report, the Commission launches a study on lay associations, in particular with the development of a pilot methodology to assist the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life in accompanying aspects regarding safeguarding within these associations. This methodology is illustrated in the Report, together with an initial application in the case of the Focolare Movement.
« The Commission welcomes the important safeguarding reforms recently enacted by the Focolare Movement. While noting specific recommendations, the Commission also highlights certain particularly good practices, including the establishment of an Independent Central Commission for handling cases of abuse within the Focolare Movement; a Communication Policy concerning sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults; and Guidelines on support and financial reparation in cases of sexual abuse.»
Among the improvements requested and the recommendations: external review and control procedures and a systematic independent review plan, at the same time taking into account the work of the Supervisory Board, which is however a useful provision within the Movement’s safeguarding system.
The inclusion in the new Procedures of a clause stating that victims/survivors should be proactively and affirmatively informed of their right to report their case to the civil authorities; to harmonize the Movement’s diverse and fragmented policies into a single, coherent document, although positively welcoming a consolidated document which is to be published shortly.
The Focolare Movement expresses its sincere gratitude for the support received from the Commission for the Protection of Minors, which over the past year has followed the Movement’s work on formation, prevention and the creation of a system of rules and procedures, offering its expertise. The work is now continuing with the study of the recommendations proposed by the Commission in this report; some will be implemented in the coming months and will be reported in the next Report on Safeguarding in the Focolare Movement, which will be published by February 2026.
Stefania Tanesini
A: I believe this report represents a real step forward. In fact, the last report was criticised, mainly because the places and dates of sexual abuse were not mentioned. The new report covers cases disclosed in the last 10 years and adds these clarifications: it is stated that sexual abuses were carried out on all continents (about 20 countries), with a peak of cases between 1990 and 1999, as well as during the decade before 90 and after 2000. The offences sometimes are repeated over several decades, suggesting that these are multiple repeat offenders whose abuses have continued. Some offences happened and were dealt with around 2020, indicating that people abused were able to report abuse almost in real time, which is progress. All communicated sexual abuses were carried out by men. The opposite is true for abuses of authority, which in 77% of cases were committed by women, which is in proportion with the higher number of women among those belonging to this Movement. The report also contains a detailed and clear section on the measures implemented during the year, particularly regarding formation. It remains to be understood what the root causes of these abuses are. Beyond preventive measures and sanctions, further work should be done to identify the systemic causes that could explain these figures, in order to put in place a strategy that would prevent them. Q: In this second report, the people who abuse are identified according to precise criteria set out in the Communication Policy recently published by the Focolare Movement. What do you think of this decision? A: This is an ethical conflict. On the one hand, it is a matter of believing the experience of the people abused and taking the complaints they make seriously, as well as quickly putting measures in place so as to protect them. On the other hand, it is a question of respecting the presumed innocence of the alleged abusers, of not defaming them when no final criminal conviction has been pronounced. The issue is complex and finding a satisfactory solution will no doubt require a lot of listening and dialogue. Q: The UNESCO Chair on child abuse that you coordinate came about because you came into contact personally with a case of child abuse of which you knew both one of the people abused and the person who abused. It was a case that happened in the Catholic Church in France. In this case, the social or religious community is defined as a ‘secondary victim’. What does this mean? What are the wounds that people carry, how can they be healed at a social and community level? A: Yes, in fact, this chair was set up as a result of being in contact with a person who had been abused. A contact that left a deep mark on me: I was profoundly affected by this suffering, and my desire to do something came from this. First and foremost, abuse affects the person who has been abused, who often suffers lasting psychological consequences. Sometimes, the opening up about the facts can bring out a great vulnerability in this person, which requires specific accompaniment. In turn, this also affects the person’s relatives, such as their spouse, their children, but also their parents who feel responsible for having entrusted their child to an institution that did not protect them. The devastating effects also have an impact on the entire community, as members are often unaware that within it a repeat offender was concealed, a person with whom they may have had a bond of closeness, of friendship. We may ask ourselves: why didn’t I notice anything? Another aspect concerns the bond with the institution that may have protected the abuser, sometimes in good faith, producing in people a sense of betrayal and distrust. Finally, the community may also become divided, depending on their divergent analyses, between those who take refuge in denial, and those who want to fight to prevent these things from happening again. Rectifying all of this requires a wide range of measures: it is essential to take on the responsibility of accompanying the people who have been abused and their families, but it is also necessary to restore trust in the institution that has shown its weaknesses and where there is a sincere willingness to learn from its past mistakes. It’s the actions that matter in making this happen: the institution must promote transparency by communicating very precise information, put in place clear procedures, create places for listening, establish reparation procedures and, for communities, spaces for dialogue where even opposing opinions can be exchanged. Q: The Focolare Movement is a worldwide organisation, including people from different cultures and religions who are subject to different legal systems and adopt different lifestyles. How is it possible to implement anti-abuse practices in such a multicultural and diverse environment? A: The consequences of child sexual abuse exist in all cultures, they are universal. In addition to the ongoing psychological and social impact, those who have been abused may have biological ongoing effects, such as increased stress hormones, altering the expression of certain genes and brain morphology and brain functioning. These dysfunctions continue to be present throughout the survivor’s life and may be passed on to the next generation. So it cannot be said that there are cultural variations in the severity of the consequences on those who have been abused or that there are cultures where these people suffer less: always and everywhere, it’s devastating. It is therefore necessary to put in place measures for prevention, but also for reparation all over the world. One can see that awareness of the seriousness of these situations is increasing: for example, in the Catholic Church, national enquiry commissions have been set up in many countries in Europe, North America, Latin America, but also in Australia, India and South Africa. Although suffering does not vary, what may vary is that people resist in denouncing the facts and their ability to put in place protective and remedial measures. This may be related to the fact that in some cultures talking about sexuality is taboo. The first step is to make people aware of the consequences of abuse: there are already programmes promoted by various associations that take into account the way sexuality is considered in different cultures. For example, proposing that those who listen to the suffering of people who have been abused and belong to the same culture can understand them better. This can make people want to do something about it. Prevention can also be targeted directly at children, through education about their rights: again, there are programmes, for example, based on songs. Another thing that varies is the ability of countries and institutions to take measures of protection and reparation. A respectful and non-stigmatising dialogue with those who commit abuse is the way forward: this will enable everyone to understand the seriousness of the abuse, but also to find culturally specific ways to enable people to speak up, to implement processes of reparation and to educate members of the community. Q: Both within the Focolare Movement and also in other contexts there are those who express the conviction that the time has come to move forward; that is, that it is not necessary to continue talking only about abuses, but to focus on the ‘mission’ of the Movement and on what beautiful and positive things are being generated in the world by the living out of this charism today. What is your opinion on this? A: What do we mean by ‘mission’? Is it not to advance towards universal fraternity, towards a culture that puts the suffering of the weakest first, a culture of dialogue, openness, humility? It seems to me that the fight against all kinds of abuses is precisely a way of implementing this desire, putting those who suffer in the first place. Helping to heal the wounds of those who have been abused is a way of going towards universal fraternity. This also implies accompanying the people who have abused in order to prevent reoffending. Acknowledging one’s mistakes, one’s vulnerability, in order to create solutions, taking into account the opinions of experts in this field is precisely a way to build a culture of dialogue. Fighting with determination against abuse and accompanying those who have been abused are right at the heart of this ‘mission’. Therefore we don’t need to choose between the fight against abuse and ‘mission’, because this fight is a central element of ‘mission’. In today’s context, this is a priority which is painful but necessary.