Pope Francis Appointed Father Andrew Small, Secretary pro tempore of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Father Small is the former National Director of the Pontifical Missionary Works, reported today, June 22, 2021, the Holy See Press Office.
Father Andrew Small
Is a priest and member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The Vatican appointed him National Director of the Pontifical Missionary Works in the United States. He founded Missio Invest in 2014.
Native of Liverpool, England, he has carried out his parish ministry in Brazil and the United States. He was Political Adviser to the United States Bishops for International Economic Development from 2004 to 2009, after which he coordinated the efforts for the Church in Haiti, following the earthquake in 2010. He was Adjunct Professor of Commercial Law in the Law Center of Georgetown University from 2006 to 2009, and has a Licentiate in Law from Sheffield University, England, and from the Law Center of Georgetown University. He holds a Doctorate in Systematic Theology from the Catholic University of America and is a Member of the Foreign Relations Council.
Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors
Through a chirograph, the Holy Father Francis instituted this Commission in 2014. “After listening to the advice of numerous Cardinals and Members of the Episcopal College, as well as the opinion of other collaborators and experts on topics related to this sector, I have decided to continue the work already begun by my Predecessors, establishing in the Holy See a Permanent Commission with the objective to promote the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, through forms and ways that are considered more opportune, in keeping with the nature of the Church, in addition to cooperating for that objective with those that individually or in an organized way, pursue the same objective,” reads the text.
As its statutes point out, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors is an autonomous institution linked to the Holy See, with a public juridical personality (canon 116 CCC). The Commission has a consultative function at the service of the Holy Father.
The protection of minors is a priority for the Commission, whose purpose is to propose initiatives to the Pontiff in keeping with the modalities and specifications indicated by this Statute, to promote local Churches’ responsibility in the protection of all minors and vulnerable adults.
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
