Communications staff
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors today made its groundbreaking Annual Report on Church Policies and Procedures for Safeguarding available in five major languages: Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Understood as a tool for change and promoting institutional conversion, the Commission considers it crucial to communicate its findings in languages that are readily accessible worldwide.
Presenting the Report to international press at the Holy See Press Office last October, the Secretary of the Commission, Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, underscored that rooting a culture that prevents abuse in the worldwide Church passes through language: “This work that we are doing at a global level must also include other languages, in addition to English and Italian, to make us aware that there are victims who speak Spanish, who speak French, who speak Polish, who speak other languages…” The Colombian prelate added: “Half of us Catholics speak Spanish, and it is there, in the Latin American context and in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, where we must increasingly promote these prevention policies.”
The Annual Report as a global information tool
The Annual Report is a cumulative effort of reporting which must necessarily go hand in hand with an internal process of communication to boost awareness within the Church. To spread the knowledge of the Annual Report’ process, the Commission aims to reach out to the people where they are and try to bridge the language gap. In this effort, the Commission set itself the goal of publishing the Annual Report in five languages before the years’ end.
Brazilian youth care expert and Commission member Nelson Giovanelli comments: “For Brazil, a country with about 123 million Catholics, it is important that the Commission presents its safeguarding message among Church leaders and people of God in our own language.” And he added: “Much work must be done on safeguarding in Brazil, and language cannot be another barrier.”
In the same line, Commission member Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, Saint-Jean-de Maurienne and Tarentaise, France, stressed that: “a culture change within the Church cannot happen without the effort of communicating in the language of the people. The safeguarding effort is universal and, as a French Commission Member, I’m happy to see that we will be able to reach out to the francophone countries.” The Annual Report aims to bring about cultural change through building knowledge, trust and collaboration among all stakeholders across the Church responsible for the wellbeing of minors and vulnerable people. To access the Annual Report in English, Italian, Spanish, French or Portuguese click HERE
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