Four months after soliciting public input on the development of safeguarding guidelines, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said it had reviewed 300 responses and 700 suggestions that “largely confirmed the approach adopted” for establishing rules and procedures to handle abuse in the Catholic Church.
The commission, which held its plenary assembly in Rome between 20th and 22nd September, began working on the second phase of its “Universal Guideline Framework” which will “provide clear criteria for local churches on how safeguarding policies and procedures can become effective,” it said in a statement released on 23rd September. The framework’s first phase established 10 safeguarding principles that were released in May. In June, the commission launched an online survey open to anyone interested in giving feedback on the proposed framework’s application to local churches.
The commission said it will continue incorporating the feedback it received until March 2024. Phase two of the framework’s development will involve “the issuing of five to seven criteria” related to each of the 10 principles in the framework and that point to certain skills required in each diocese to ensure the framework is being implemented, the commission said in its statement.
Picture: Members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors meet during a plenary assembly at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Courtesy Christian Alvarez)