Protecting the Vulnerable: Current Safeguarding Issues Worldwide

The important topic of safeguarding was brought to the forefront on Friday, March 6 as Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ, delivered guest lectures for both the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario and the Archdiocese of Toronto at St. Augustine’s Seminary as well as The Regis St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College.

His Eminence Frank Cardinal Leo, bishops, religious superiors, representatives from seminaries, staff and faculty were in attendance at the respective events.

Fr. Zollner is the director of the Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and is considered one of the world’s most prominent experts in safeguarding issues.

He spoke to pressing safeguarding challenges facing both the Catholic Church and broader society, framing the work as something far more expansive than damage control.

He argued that safeguarding in the Catholic Church is fundamentally about the co-creation of safe spaces, safe processes, and safe relationships – pushing back against a purely defensive understanding of the term. That work, he added, demands an honest reckoning with the Church's past and present failures, and a recognition that every member of the faithful — whether lay, ordained, or religious — has a role to play.

Meditating on an icon that is the motif of his Institute at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Fr. Zollner indicated that Christ the Saviour, depicted healing and consoling diverse members of the human family, is the model and guide for doing such work. In a global context, safeguarding must centre human dignity, while remaining sensitive to how boundaries, safety, and guarding are understood across different cultures.

The archdiocese would like to thank all those in attendance as well as Fr. Zollner for his insightful presentation and thoughtful approach to the questions that followed.