Establishment of a task force for the protection of minors

The Holy Father, Pope Francis concluded the meeting entitled The protection of minors in the Church, which took place at the Vatican from 21 to 24 February 2019 with the declaration of his intention to establish a task force whose aim would be to help the Episcopal Conferences, the Institutes of Religious Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the preparation and the updating of the guidelines in relation to the protection of minors.

One year later, during which time the details of this undertaking have been further defined, the Holy Father has ordered that:

1.  The task force will be overseen by His Excellency, Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, together with Cardinals Oswald Garcias, Archbishop of Bombay; Blase Joseph Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago; His Excellency, Charles Jude Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta and Associate Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Father Hans Zollner, SJ, Dean of the Institute for Psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

2.  The task force will assist the Episcopal Conferences, the Institutes of Religious Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, at their request, in the preparation and development of guidelines concerning the protection of minors, in conformity with the guidelines which were published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as with that which is established by the current canonical legislation in the matter of abuse and, in particular, in accordance with the Motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi which was published on 7 May 2019.

3.  The preparation of the guidelines will however remain in the competence and subject to the responsibility of the respective Episcopal Conferences, Institutes of Religious Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

4.  The working group will have a mandate of two years, beginning on 24 February 2020. It is composed of a Coordinator, Doctor Andrew Azzopardi, Head of the Safeguarding Commission for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults for the Maltese Ecclesiastical Province, and by some experts in canon law of different nationalities.

5.  The Coordinator will report quarterly to the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State concerning the activities carried out by the task force.

6.  The activities carried out by this working group will be funded by benefactors.

7.  Requests for assistance coming from Episcopal Conferences, Religious Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life, can be submitted by email (taskforce@org.va).