The Society of Jesus and public institutions in Taiwan, including Taiwanese church hospitals, are collaborating for the protection of children. On 5 May, the Child and Adolescent Protection Center with the Office of Child and Adolescent Protection of the Jesuits in the Chinese Province organised a seminar on “Child and Adolescent Protection Achievements Presentation and Community Trauma Awareness” at the Fu Jen Catholic University Hospital. The event attracted nearly 200 participants.
Fr John Lee Hua SJ, Director of the Chinese Province Office of Child and Adolescent Protection, presented on the progress of safeguarding in the Catholic Church in Taiwan. He also discussed past cases of child abuse within the Catholic Church that took place globally and were frequently handled internally by Church institutions. Due to the prioritisation of church law over civil law at the time, numerous cases were mishandled, causing further harm to the victims. Nowadays, church authorities acknowledge past mistakes and have adopted a zero-tolerance policy, aligning themselves with current government regulations and progressing accordingly.
In the past, the attitude of the church towards child protection issues often led to power abuse. If we say, “It takes a village to raise a child”, for victims who have suffered harm from church personnel during their childhood, healing may sometimes be a lifelong process. Therefore, the church is taking a serious approach and making efforts to implement various measures to prevent and stop child abuse, enhance awareness of child protection among its members, and establish a safe and nurturing church environment.
Social welfare organisations and the Director-General of the New Taipei City Social Welfare Department, who attended the event, praised the church’s proactive efforts in addressing child protection issues. They expressed their hope for future collaboration in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and also called on all religious groups in Taiwan to prioritise this issue. [Chinese Province]
