Briefing after the conclusion of the meeting on "The protection of minors in the Church"

María Fernanda Bernasconi – Vatican City

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, took part in the last meeting of 24 February on the meeting entitled "The Protection of Minors in the Church", which took place at 1.30 pm at the same time. Augustinian Patristic Institute of Rome. Former President of the Indian Episcopal Conference and member of the Organizing Committee of this meeting; Bishop Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta; Assistant Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Member of the organizing committee; Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication; Father Federico Lombardi, President of the Vatican Foundation, Joseph Ratzinger – Benedict XVI, moderator of the meeting; Father Hans Zollner, President of the Center for the Protection of Minors of the Pontifical Gregorian University, member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the Committee's representative; Valentina Alazraki, Mexican journalist and Acting Director of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, who facilitated the meeting.

First of all Alessandro Gisotti He summarized these work covers stating that it was four very intense days, which in itself already offers a "strong message" that now requires concrete follow-up. And he alluded to what this meeting meant for him personally and defined "a true listening and conversion experience". He also said that, as a father, listening to the victims' testimonies was something he could not forget and who had deeply questioned him. At the same time, he said that in his opinion, none of them can forget what he heard.

The father Federico Lombardi He thanked the journalist Valentina Alazraki for the tremendous exhibition that he organized yesterday afternoon and highlighted the two great moments of prayer: the Saturday Penitential Liturgy and Sunday Mbad which were truly the moment of celebration. to be together in the Church, to pray together, who could not be absent at a meeting of this type before each one returns to his own mission in the different places of the earth.

He emphasized what the pope said in his speech, which placed all the work done in a broad context, in the broader context of violence against children in all its forms, all over the world. , not to mention the co-responsibility of the Church, also with the institutions and society in dealing with this problem and with a specific moral commitment, as well as conversion and purification, which is particularly serious given the duty to the evangelical proclamation entrusted to the Church.

With regard to the importance of listening to the voices of the victims, Father Lombardi baderted that a deeper understanding of the scandal, injuries, responsibilities, dynamics, accountability and transparency is obtained. which marked our path and the spirit of synodal collegiality. He pointed out that while speaking with many participants, one feels that they have made a trip and grown up in stewardship, as the body of the universal Church.

Among the concrete initiatives we can expect in the future, in the near future, he said that we will have to wait for a new Motu proprio the Pope on the protection of minors and vulnerable people whose goal is to strengthen prevention. He also added that the fight against abuses in the Roman Curia and in the State of Vatican City would be accompanied by a new law for the Vatican City State and guidelines for the Vicariate for the Protection of the Vatican City. minors and vulnerable people. There are three documents that have a certain unity between them: the motu proprio, the law of state and the directives of the Vicariate, in different aspects and which are ready, they will be presented in a very short time, since 39, it is only to prepare your publication, but it is already a mature subject.

The other thing that is about to happen and that is about to happen, but it may take a few more weeks, a month or two, that is that vademecum whose Bishop Scicluna spoke more than once, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to help the bishops of the world to understand their duties and tasks. It will not be an encyclopedia, but a very simple, very brief but precise one, both from the legal point of view and from the pastoral point of view, which will be very useful because, as the Pope has said, we must catechize, we must specify that everyone can go home with very clear ideas.

The third thing, which should be even better defined, is the pope's intention to encourage the creation of working groups of competent people to help the bishops' conferences and dioceses in difficulty the lack of resources and resources competition. Thus, with the spirit of communion of the universal Church that we have lived here, in which there are more experienced and less experienced people and churches, more equipped and less equipped churches, it gives rise to an operational initiative. concretely for the organization of working groups. carry out this solidarity and help.

The pope said that he approves of it, but that it needs to be formatted and organized. It will take a little while and he will be informed of what can be done.

The last thing that is very simple, is that already tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock we will meet the organizing committee and heads of the departments of the Roman Curia more involved to lead together the reflection of these days and on how to continue also with the follow-up of many of the ideas and proposed needs that have been expressed.

For his part, Prefect Ruffini said briefly that he had tried to send back to the press the reports of the minor circles and a few question and answer sessions during the plenary badembly. This is why, on this occasion, on behalf of the Department of Communication, he particularly appreciated the work of journalists, even uncomfortable, but encourages us to feel uncomfortable and faithful in our turn. As a dicastery, we have done everything, he said, to help the press in a concrete and faithful way, so that we can say, after having witnessed it, an important moment for the Church. A moment of truth, transparency, listening, admitting one's own mistakes, decisions and actions, responsibility for all.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias recalled that there were 190 participants, of whom just over 130 were the presidents of episcopal conferences, but the important thing is that everyone is faced with this problem. It's one of the things that have come out very clearly. All reports have been very helpful, excellent. But the priority of all this is for the Church: it impresses me, that is to say that this problem is a priority for the Church. And now, this priority is shared by all. What will I take with me? I think I will take with me the awareness that it is a very serious problem and that it should have priority over everything else. This awareness: the seriousness of the problem.

He added that the Church should be at the forefront of the defense of children's rights in all areas. Always in the forefront. It must be a model of how he acts, how he thinks. And we must always learn from past experiences, learn to do better in the future.

Valentina Alazraki also appreciated the opportunity to appeal to such experienced people in times of crisis, which must be addressed. He pointed out that the guidelines received to solve the problems related to transparency. He had a total freedom of expression in his report, from which nothing was corrected, not even a comma.

And he stressed the need to work together. He therefore invited everyone to make a small effort in his relations with the press when the journalists mentioned the negative aspects of a problem, and reaffirmed that, on the other hand, we also expected fair and timely information in a In short time, because if the answers come too late, we do not need anything.

After reflections and reflections on his experience, Bishop Scicluna emphasized that, as pastors, they represented not only the leaders, but also the communities. And the change of heart must be done by listening to a large number of voices. And the voice of women has been important. And this leadership was like a breath of fresh air. And we need to listen, to hear, to experiment. Because, as the Holy Father said after hearing Dr. Ghisoni, the Church is a mother, she has this power. The voice of women in the Church is vital to us so that we can go in the right direction. While the other aspect refers to the communication

Father Zollner said that these days, he had made a qualitative and quantitative leap in a journey that had lasted for decades and would continue. Quantitatively, in the sense that there has never been such a meeting with all the representatives, the church leaders present in the room, there has never been anything like it and certainly not about it. But the leap is qualitative in that, although all the bishops and superiors were present here, 7, 8, 10 years ago, there was a symposium in 2012 and they were not presidents Episcopal Conferences, but representatives of Episcopal Conferences, Although they have come a long way since then.

The attitude of the beginning was different and finally very different. I've heard about many working groups, many people, even individually, who felt transformed. When I hear people from Asia, Africa, speak now in the same language with the same determination: "We must face this problem" …, "We must take responsibility" …, "We have to intervene at home" … it's a very comforting and encouraging message for me.

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