The Missionaries of Africa held a Safeguarding training program from June 15 to 30, for 25 child protection delegations from 17 countries across the African continent, as well as Mexico, the Netherlands, and England. The program, which was held at the Lavigerie Centre in Kigali, Rwanda, focused on enhancing knowledge of best practices for protecting minors and vulnerable adults.

Implementing the Memorare Initiative

The purpose of the Safeguarding program was threefold. First, the Missionaries of Africa hoped its members would become more knowledgeable about updated Safeguarding policies and implement best practices and policies in their respective missions.

Lastly, the training sessions introduced the delegates to the Memorare Initiative, a capacity building program designed by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors  to assist local churches with underdeveloped safeguarding structures.

In his address to the Commission  in April 2022, the Pope urged the commission members “to assist the Bishops’ Conferences – this is very important: to assist and supervise in dialogue with the Bishops’ Conferences – in the establishment of suitable centers where people who have suffered abuse, and their families, can find welcome and attentive listening and be accompanied in a process of healing and justice.”

The training sessions in Rwanda allowed the Missionaries of Africa to better understand and discuss how to implement the Memorare Initiative in their local churches.

Laying the Foundations for Safeguarding

The two-week program began with an opening Mass and a word of welcome from the Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa, Father Stanley Lubongo. The training sessions were designed to place Safeguarding efforts at the heart of the society’s mission and charism, according to the vision of its founder: Cardinal Charles Lavigerie. Father Lowrent Kamwaza, who organized the training program, said:

“Safeguarding is a blessing to the little ones, to the children, to the persons in vulnerable situations, it is a blessing to them and being a blessing we have to take it as our daily commitment.”

Cardinal Charles Lavigerie

Beginning with an introduction to Safeguarding basic notions and language, the sessions centered on different forms of abuse – such as sexual abuse, abuse of power, and abuse of conscience -, how they can occur, as well as the consequences and suffering such abuse can inflict in victims and survivors.

In the program’s second week, training sessions were held on how to manage cases, how to properly accompany victims and survivors, and how to create safe boundaries to reduce the possibility of abuse.

The participants also learned about Safeguarding legal perspective of canon law, and how to conduct preliminary investigations and collaborate with civil authorities, particularly in reporting abuse.

“By listening to the painful experiences of abuse during our training, I can say that justice is a real bulwark in the protection of minors, children, and vulnerable people. So as the Pontifical Commission says it very well: ‘the zero-tolerance approach to abuse’ must be maintained.” Father Felix Kiboba, one of the participants, said.

The Missionaries of Africa hoped the training program would be an essential step in showing the Church’s concern and care for the most vulnerable and ensuring that Safeguarding training continues at all levels in their community.

“After the training in Kigali, I am convinced that Safeguarding is the commitment to promoting a safer world for children, minors, and vulnerable people,” Father Kiboba added. “And as such, it is a call for everyone.”