Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the people we serve is a top priority of the Society of Jesus. Every Jesuit has an important role in creating and maintaining an environment that provides a safe space for anyone to grow and develop optimally, and feel respected and dignified.

As a formal sign of its commitment to protecting the safety and wellbeing of all those under their care, the Indonesian Jesuit Province has inaugurated a safeguarding protocol to guide its members in the conduct of their ministries and ensure that a culture of safety is promoted at all times.

Indonesian Provincial Fr Benny Juliawan SJ said that the promulgation of the protocol is a step towards recognition and repentance of past mistakes and sins, in accordance with the request of the Universal Society and Pope Francis, and a firm commitment to improving the Province’s ways of relating to the people they serve.

Most Rev Robertus Rubiatmoko, Archbishop of Semarang, expressed his gratitude and support, saying that such a protocol is a real need of the Church. It will serve as a learning material for the Semarang Archdiocese, which is preparing a similar protocol. His hope is that with guidelines in place, Jesuits can be further assisted in living their vocation as best as possible so they can provide the best service.

As mandated by Fr General Arturo Sosa in his 2018 letter on sharing with the suffering of victims of abuse and fostering a culture of protection, every Jesuit needs personal, communal, and institutional conversion by paying attention to the integrity of life. For a Jesuit, creating a culture of safety also means protecting and caring for his fellow Jesuits, as Ignatius writes in the Spiritual Exercises.