Vatican City, 8 May 2015 (VIS) – To
complete the publication of the Statutes, the Chirograph by which the
Pope instituted the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of
Minors on 22 March 2014 was also published today.
“The effective protection of minors
and a commitment to ensure their human and spiritual development, in
keeping with the dignity of the human person, are integral parts of
the Gospel message that the Church and all members of the faithful
are called to spread throughout the world. Many painful actions have
caused a profound examination of conscience for the entire Church,
leading us to request forgiveness from the victims and from our
society for the harm that has been caused. This response to these
actions is the firm beginning for initiatives of many different
types, which are intended to repair the damage, to attain justice,
and to prevent, by all means possible, the recurrence of similar
incidents in the future.
For these reasons, and after having
received the counsel of many cardinals and members of the college of
bishops, together with other collaborators and experts in these
matters, I decided to continue the work begun by my Predecessors by
establishing a permanent Commission attached to the Holy See. The aim
of the Commission is to promote the protection of the dignity of
minors and vulnerable adults, using the forms and methods, consonant
with the nature of the Church, which they consider most appropriate,
as well as through their cooperation with individuals and groups
pursuing these same objectives.
As I had the opportunity to highlight
during an encounter with several victims of sexual abuse, I rely on
the members of this Commission for the effective protection of minors
and vulnerable adults, regardless of religion they profess, because
they are the little ones on whom the Lord looks with love. To my
collaborators in this work, I ask for all efforts possible to assist
me in responding to these needs of these little ones.
The Commission’s specific task is to
propose to me the most opportune initiatives for protecting minors
and vulnerable adults, in order that we may do everything possible to
ensure that crimes such as those which have occurred are no longer
repeated in the Church. The Commission is to promote local
responsibility in the particular Churches, uniting their efforts to
those of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the
protection of all children and vulnerable adults.
It is for all these reasons that I have
instituted the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
All that is established with the
present Chirograph has full and stable effect, anything to the
contrary not notwithstanding, even if deserving of special mention”.
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