Poland: Protection of Minors Commission hosts major conference in Warsaw

Source: Vatican News

The Church in Central and Eastern Europe has come together for a conference on the safeguarding of minors, which is taking place in Warsaw, Poland, from 19-22 September. The event is being held under the theme: 'Our Common Mission of Safeguarding God's Children.'

Representatives of Bishops' Conferences from nearly 20 nations in Central and Eastern Europe are taking part, along with professionals who work in the field of child and youth protection.

According to the press statement from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, leaders from local Churches and delegates will examine their response to the crisis of sexual abuse of minors, while evaluating the impact of the regional context on the issue.

Participants will hear experts share their experience regarding "prevention, intervention (reporting abuse and implementation of existing procedures - Vos estis lux mundi), and showcase practices already adopted and in use in other parts of the Church."

One main goal of the Warsaw conference will be to encourage the exchange of experiences and promote networking among Church representatives engaged in the protection of minors.

Those present will seek to establish better systems to exchange information and share resources "in a dialectic of mutual learning."

The statement goes on to note that participants will include bishops, superiors of religious communities, and laypeople working in the field - from Latin- and Greek-rite Catholic Churches, and from nations including Poland, Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Kosovo.

Cardinal Seán O'Malley, President of the Pontifical Commission, said in the communique that the Warsaw conference aims to help local Catholic leaders in safeguarding the most vulnerable.

"Our Commission travels to Warsaw to be with the churches in Central and Eastern Europe, to listen to them, learn about their reality and help them chart a course forward in the protection of children and vulnerable people."

The Cardinal also recognised the courage of those who have suffered abuse by the clergy.

"It is because of their courage that others can be spared from experiencing this horror," he said. "There is no place or group of people that is immune to being impacted by this crime and sin. It has tragically infiltrated the Church in all countries and all cultures."

Cardinal O'Malley called on Church leaders to continue a "journey of learning" which continues throughout life. "Conversion to a culture of safeguarding is an urgent priority," he said.

Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, President of the Polish Bishops' Conference, welcomed the fact that Poland is hosting the Warsaw conference for the entire region. He said: "I hope that this meeting will allow us to look not only at the difficulties we face today, but also to exchange experiences and best practices and that it will mark the beginning of a future collaboration, which will result in common actions in our part of Europe."

The initiative is the result of the joint efforts of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, the Polish Bishops' Conference, and the St Joseph Foundation.

In his opening address on Sunday, Cardinal Seán O'Malley spoke about the importance of pastoral conversion "as a missionary path for the entire Church," an emphasis the Pope himself often makes.

"Conversion at both the personal and institutional level is at the heart of the process of renewal and is essential for what Pope Francis calls a 'missionary transformation' of the Church," said the Cardinal.

He said the invitation to conversion is an essential theme at the conference which hopes to renew the Church in the face of sexual abuse across Central and Eastern Europe.

"We must work for change that will be incorporated in all aspects of the Church's life," said the Cardinal, "combatting sexual abuse wherever it has occurred regardless of the status or office of the person who has committed the crime."

Cardinal O'Malley then offered three steps to assist Church leaders in their ministry to safeguard and care for minors and vulnerable persons.

The first: "listening" - requires a heart that is willing to acknowledge the "truth of what has happened... "When someone who has been abused by clergy, religious or other persons in the Church tells their story, we must receive them and their testimony with the utmost reverence," he said.

The Cardinal also called for the creation and improvement of "clear channels of communication and encounter" where abuse survivors can contact the Church if they so desire.

He praised the many dioceses which have set up dedicated phone lines or email accounts for survivors or their family members to contact. However, added the Cardinal, "if a diocese does not receive much response after establishing these means of contact, it does not mean the reality of sexual abuse by clergy or religious is not present."

Rather, dioceses should seek to adapt their lines of communication for the local culture. "It is important that we all maintain a focus on providing accessible, welcoming and non-judgmental opportunities for survivors and their loved ones to contact and engage in dialogue with the local Church."

The next step in the process of renewal: "acknowledging survivors" - means the Church must "provide honest and clear recognition of those who have been abused."

Cardinal O'Malley said defensiveness is not a correct response and should be replaced with "a deep listening to the survivor, with a willingness to understand more fully what they have experienced."

One obstacle to this listening process, added the Cardinal, is a "misguided concern for the reputation of the institutional Church."

"While pastors do hold responsibility for the protection of the Church, and in many cases have suffered or given their lives in defense of the faith," said Cardinal O'Malley, "a skeptical and sometimes even demeaning response to the testimony of abuse can cause serious damage to the people the Church is called to hold as a priority for pastoral care and concern, namely, those broken and wounded by abusive ministers within the Church itself."

Vulnerability in the face of wrongs committed by the Church's ministers, added the Cardinal, is a common sentiment, though it can be also become a "experience of God's action in our world that brings healing".

The third and final step: "seeking forgiveness" - requires Church leaders to imitate Jesus who was moved when He saw the needs of the people.

Cardinal O'Malley said many survivors have been unjustly treated and have been "rejected in their suffering by the Church itself," adding that they can instead play a leading role in building up the Church.

"By adopting the role of protagonists in our communities, survivors can provide an important insight to Gospel truth that opens the way for a new evangelisation, even of the Church itself," he said.

Though each abuse survivor's journey is deeply personal and unique, the Church's ministers must seek "pardon from all those impacted by sexual abuse".

Finally, the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors called on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe to continue along the path of pastoral conversion, so that the Church might "recover credibility and promote healing."

The journey of learning, concluded Cardinal O'Malley, will be "ongoing throughout our lives."

"With the assistance of dedicated and competent people like those gathered here and many others in the region who are committed to the process of healing and reconciliation," said the Cardinal, "I am confident we are on the right path and can make meaningful progress, always putting concern for and the needs of the survivors first as we move forward."