The Promotion of a Consistent Culture of Protection is a project initiated in 2018 by the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat of the Society of Jesus. The work is aligned to the second Universal Apostolic Preference: Walking with the Excluded. Fr John Guiney SJ, who serves as PCCP’s project coordinator, says that addressing issues of abuse is part of the Jesuits’ core mission of justice and reconciliation. “Our commitment to justice is incredible–as we say in French uncroyable, not credible–until we face the issues of abuse in the church, recognising that it is a justice issue.”
Fr Guiney and researcher Dr Sandra Racionero-Plaza, who serves as assistant coordinator, joined the major superiors of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) in Chiang Mai to present the results of the audit within JCAP on the Three Basic Standards of Safeguarding: 1) having robust and live policies on safeguarding, 2) training and formation, and 3) having suitable protocols to deal with complaints and allegations.
“The language of safeguarding is changing. Each context, each culture is different, and so policies need to be continually re-formulated in dialogue with global communities, with global cultures, and with global practice,” says Fr Guiney.
By 2021, Fr Guiney shares that every province had established policies to address safeguarding concerns. While this is a significant step, he stresses the importance of having “living” policies that evolve in dialogue with communities. It is essential that grassroots communities are aware of the Society of Jesus’ commitment to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Some areas need to be strengthened, such as training for lay partners, including teachers, social workers, and care workers, who work directly with children and vulnerable adults.
“Transforming live policies into real structures with trained personnel across the globe will create consistency,” says Fr Guiney. This requires a provincial to allocate financial resources and select the best men and women in his province to implement the policies. He adds that the role of women is crucial in this area to effectively execute the mission of transforming a culture of protection.
Dr Racionero-Plaza notes that training is an area of concern globally and for JCAP, especially training for the different parties involved, information for Jesuits and lay collaborators, and other support systems, like compensation and reparation policies, as well as how to accompany and support both victims and the accused person. Dr Racionero-Plaza is an associate professor at the University of Barcelona and holds a joint PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. With two decades of experience, she is considered one of the top researchers in the field. She joined the project in January 2023.
For her, the Society of Jesus stands out in its plan, actions, and will to address and reverse the problem of abuse and transform communities and institutions globally. “I haven’t found that willingness, nor the actions, anywhere else,” she says. “Other institutions don’t want to break the silence. And when the silence is broken, they sometimes try to hide the cases and don’t want them to be known. And for those who support the victims, those institutions even attack them. This is called ‘isolating violence’.”
Both acknowledge that safeguarding is ultimately about transforming human relationships. They continue the work of PCCP with passion and energy from their own unique perspectives.
Fr Guiney goes back to General Congregation (GC) 36 in 2016, when transformation within the Society of Jesus took place and the silence was broken. “I was there at GC36, when a great moment of change occurred in our conversations and I think in our decisions,” he reflects. “When spiritual conversation was introduced at the congregation and we truly listened to each person’s heartfelt contribution, and asked how the spirit of God was moving in our group, we made more authentic, more Gospel-centred decisions. I think the change was facilitated when victims came forward and Jesuits began to listen to them. Walking in the shoes of a victim gives you a whole new perspective on the suffering they endure and how the abuse of a child can impact their entire life,” he explains.
Drawing from his own experience working with refugees in Africa, he shares that it is in listening to peoples’ stories where conversion happens. “We see the world from the perspective of the person who has been affected by abuse or other crises, like war.” Fr Guiney, recalls Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ, who called on the Society in the early 1980s to reach out to refugees. He notes that Fr Nicolás and Fr Sosa share a similar conviction that the Society needs to support those who have been abused in the church and society at large.
“Abuse knows no cultural or geographical boundaries, nor religious ones. It is a universal problem that exists all over the world. We have come to recognise this fact through our encounters with victims. Otherwise, it remains a theoretical concept. But when we engage with victims, it becomes a personal journey.
“Fr Arrupe made a radical statement in GC 32 about taking a preferential option for the poor. That vision changed me because I joined the Society and more importantly I stayed in the Society to enact that vision,” shares Fr Guiney. “Now, in the 21st century, we say we’re taking a preferential option for safety of children, and the most vulnerable in our society. It is almost a reinforcement, an enlargement of that post-Vatican II, post-GC 32 option for the poor. We have defined the poor in a new way, encompassing those who have been voiceless in many cultures, with children among the most vulnerable.”
Dr Racionero-Plaza emphasises the right for all individuals to benefit from advancements in any area of research, especially in preventing and recovering from abuse. She believes that successful actions in safeguarding are those that work to create the culture of protection, reduce cases of abuse, and transform human relationships.
She sees the need to open up spaces for dialogue where people feel safe to talk about abuse and provide tools and knowledge on effective strategies. “For researchers committed to social impact, it’s a huge consolation to investigate what works in the field and generate exchanges with communities to find people who are willing to apply what is already there. Seeing lives transformed and mindsets changed about abuse can be achieved through effective training and changing everyday relationships in schools, parishes, families, and non-formal education,” she says.
Fr Guiney highlights the prophetic role of the Jesuits and lay partners in addressing areas of concern that may be denied by others. He defines prophecy as “being the voice of God, which can bring disturbing and discomforting news”. He says it is essential to listen to one another with deep respect, and recognise that the spirit of God is moving within each person.
“Jesus reached out to the marginalised, listened to them, heard them, touched them. When we are touched by their voices, we are changed.” He says it is an on-going conversion. “To live is to be converted and to learn new things and new ways of doing things.”