Since 2012, one of the institutions that works most against abuses is the “Center for Child Protection” at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. It is an academic center that trains people to prevent and detect abuse in Church institutions, and to help victims.
It offers a two-year multidisciplinary program. Currently its students are from seven countries. During the opening of the academic year they showed the terrible figures of child abuse in all areas of society.
ELIZABETH J. LETOURNEAU
Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse
“The World Health Organization, and researchers that have collaborated on that project estimated that 12% of the world children, have been exposed to child's sexual abuse, which amounts to about 246 million children.”
DANA HUMAID AL MARZOUQI
Child Protection Center, United Arab Emirates
“We are finding that in the past ten years, and specifically seven, there is also an increase in the online sexual abuse of children. The ages of those children on those images and videos are getting lower and lower by the year. The child or the family of the child may not know that there are images of the child online, or the child is too young to report on what's happening. So the the actual final number of sexual abuse of children requires a lot of resources for exploring the different types of sexual abuse.”
Cardinal Reinhard Marx inaugurated the course, as his archdiocese is one of the center's main funder. He says the synod on Vocation is a good time to address the issue of abuse in the Church.
CARD. REINHARD MARX
Archbishop of Munich
“We do not want the people who are not mature in sexuality, who have a false idea of chastity, who want to have power, that is not the way to come to the Church to be a servant of Jesus. I think the synod is good to bring those questions forward.”
The Cardinal has proposed a review of how to help seminarians and priests live celibacy. He also explained a recent German study on the relationship between celibacy and abuse.
CARD. REINHARD MARX
Archbishop of Munich
“Celibacy is not the reason for abuse, that is absolutely not the case. However, celibacy combined with other weaknesses of the person, with other points: the situation and personality of the person maybe the problem; Or can attract persons who are not mature in their sexuality and so on. This is the point. But I think these questions must be there: Are we selecting the person? Are we forming people in the right way?”
This center proposes good practices to bishops and organizes congresses like this one to address the problem of abuse. Its main idea is that the most credible way to solve and prevent them is to train professionals to detect abuses and help the victims.
