By Karen Larkman, founding Director of the Office of Safeguarding and Ministerial Integrity.
It is now abundantly clear that historically the Catholic Church has not been a safe place for all and that predators were able commit horrendous crimes in plain sight. Past leaders failed in their duty to protect children and the vulnerable, leaving the reputation of the church in ruin. Much work has been necessary to ensure the failures of the past are acknowledged and do not happen again.
The church has come to understand that keeping children and adults safe and responding compassionately to people who have been harmed must be a major focus of its work, if the church is to move forward with integrity.
Safeguarding the vulnerable in society is not a new concept to the Catholic Church. It has been with us for centuries. However, historically little consideration was given to what this looked like in practice.
Many Biblical passages call us to protect and care for those who are vulnerable. Proverbs 31:8 calls us to “speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.”
In more recent times we have gained greater insight into the harm that is caused by abuse. Across the Catholic Church a cultural shift has taken place, in which we recognise the need to create a transparent and accountable environment where clergy and lay Catholics work together to keep everyone safe.
Having recognised that much more needed to be done to address the failures in church leadership to protect the vulnerable, Pope Francis introduced landmark legislation to counter sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, “Vos Estis Lux Mundi” (You are the Light of the World) in 2019.
This document established the first Catholic universal complaints and investigation framework to address crimes of sexual abuse committed by clerics. It also required, for the first time, that bishops and religious superiors be held accountable for their actions, whether that be crimes of abuse or not responding appropriately to allegations of abuse.
Here in Australia, change has been evident in the Catholic Church for many years, albeit slow and variable across the country. The Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse that ended in 2017 proved to be a pivotal moment in Australian safeguarding and resulted in a call to arms for religious institutes across Australia to work together to ensure our communities, parishes and schools are the safest possible place for children and vulnerable people.
The establishment of Catholic Professional Standards Limited in 2017, that later transitioned into Australian Catholic Safeguarding Limited (ACSL) by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has been key in providing a framework for church entities across Australia to build safe environments.
An external auditing system ensures that dioceses and religious orders are held accountable for what they do and ensures compliance with the Australian National Catholic Safeguarding Standards.
In 2024 Pope Francis said the Catholic Church needs to, “continue to be fully committed to the prevention of abuse, its firm condemnation, the provision of compassionate care for victims and ongoing commitment to being a welcoming and safe place.”
To this end Pope Francis launched the Universal Guidelines Framework (UGF) in 2024. The UGF applies to every Catholic Religious Order and Catholic Institution in the world and provides the first set of Universal Safeguarding Guidelines and Procedures that are publicly accessible.
The UGF aligns closely to the Australian National Catholic Safeguarding Standards and requires that all reports of sexual abuse should be reported to civil authorities and that the local church maintains evidence that they have cooperated with civil authorities in investigating and responding to allegations.
The Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, which launched in 2012, was in 2021 converted from a diploma program to the Institute of Anthropology, offering licentiates and doctorate courses for students from across the world.
The Catholic Church’s leading institute for safeguarding and child protection is led by Fr Hans Zollner SJ, a Jesuit priest who for many years has championed safeguarding.
The Archdiocese of Sydney is wholly committed to the protection of the vulnerable in our community and to assisting in making the world a safer place for people coming into contact with the Catholic Church.
To that end, the archdiocese works with the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, providing 90-day practice placements to students attending the Licentiate in Safeguarding Course.
Last year we welcomed a priest from the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and this year we will welcome a priest from Sierra Leone. These priests will return to their own dioceses once they have completed the licentiate course, and will contribute to implementing global standards in safeguarding in their own country.
The Archdiocese of Sydney also contributes to the licentiate course by offering experience and expertise to students, in the form of lectures on the realities of establishing robust safeguarding offices and practices.
In March 2024, Pope Francis said “the Catholic Church should not be discouraged by the challenge of confronting sex abuse, rather it must take concrete steps in developing policies to preserve the dignity of its members”.
This journey of safeguarding is with us forever, it must become part of our DNA. We must never become complacent. We must embrace Pope Francis’ rhetoric and continue to build on the good work that has gone before us.