Pope: Protecting minors in the Church involves more than protocols

Mar 25, 2025

By Lisa Zengarini
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is holding its annual Ordinary Plenary Assembly running from 24- 28 March.

Pope Francis has taken the opportunity to again express his gratitude for its “precious service” which, he said in a message addressed to participants ,“is like ‘oxygen’ for local Churches and religious communities, because where there is a child or a vulnerable person who is safe, there Christ is served and honoured.”

Established in 2014, the Commission is responsible for advising the Pope on the protection of minors and developing policies to prevent sexual abuse within Church institutions in collaboration with Vatican offices and local bishops' conferences.

As an  independent body of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (which handles disciplinary actions regarding abuse cases), it  provides recommendations on best practices, supports survivor outreach efforts, and promotes accountability within the Church.

In his message, which he signed on 20 March before he was discharged from Gemelli Hospital,  Pope Francis  encouraged  the Commission in its work, noting that abuse prevention “is not a blanket to be spread over emergencies, but one of the foundations on which to build communities faithful to the Gospel.”

Integrating education, prevention, and listening to heal
He remarked that its mission cannot be reduced to the mere application of protocols but involves promoting safeguards  integrating education, prevention, and listenin to heal.  By establishing prevention policies even in the remotest communities, Pope Francis stressed the Commission contributes to a collective commitment that every child and vulnerable person will find safety within the Church.  “This,” he said “is the motor of what should be for us an integral conversion.”

Three commitments to make the Commision's work more effective
To advance this mission Pope Francis asked for three commitments. First, he called for increased collaboration between the Commission and the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, implying that systemic cooperation is essential to address sexual abuse in the Church.

Second, he urged the Commission to adopt a pastoral approach akin to the Good Samaritan, advocating for deep, compassionate listening to survivors—one that moves beyond bureaucratic procedures and instead fosters genuine healing through mercy.

Third, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of building alliances with entities outside the Church including civil authorities, experts, associations “so that protection may become a universal language.”

Acknowledging the progress made over the past decade in building a safety network within the Church, he  insisted on the importance of listening to the pain of survivors warning  against “the temptation to file away grief instead of healing it.”

Concluding with words of encouragement, the Pope thanked the  Commission members for their prayerful closeness as he recovers from pneumonia, and assured them of his own spiritual accompaniment in their work.--Vatican News