In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you.

Welcome, my dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to greet all of you today as you gather for your Plenary Assembly. In a particular way, I thank the new President —still new — Archbishop Thibault Verny, President of the Commission, for his leadership and dedication. And I thank the Secretary, Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera, for his devoted service, as well as the Adjunct Secretary, Dr Teresa Morris Kettelkamp, for her valuable contributions to the work of the Commission. I likewise express gratitude to all of you, members and staff, for your service to the Church by protecting children, adolescents and persons in vulnerable situations. It is a demanding service, sometimes silent, often burdensome, but one which is essential for the life of the Church and for the building of an authentic culture of care.

My venerable predecessor, Pope Francis, wanted to place your service permanently within the Roman Curia to remind the whole Church that the prevention of abuse is not an optional task, but a constitutive dimension of the mission of the Church. Since my election, I have been greatly encouraged by the dialogue you have fostered with the Disciplinary Section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. By doing so, you are achieving the desired goal that prevention — one of your responsibilities — and the vigilant discipline exercised by that Dicastery come together in a truly synergistic and effective way.

Your mission is to help ensure that abuse is prevented. Yet prevention is never just a set of protocols or procedures. It is about helping to form, throughout the Church, a culture of care, in which the protection of minors and persons in vulnerable situations is not seen as an obligation imposed from outside, but as a natural expression of faith. It calls therefore for a process of conversion where the sufferings of others are heard and move us to take action. In this regard, the experiences of victims and survivors are essential reference points. While they are certainly painful and difficult to hear, these experiences powerfully bring the truth to light and teach us humility as we strive to assist victims and survivors. At the same time, it is precisely through the recognition of the pain that has occurred that a credible path for hope and renewal is opened.

Another important element of your service is incorporating a multidisciplinary and systematic approach. As part of the Roman Curia, within the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, you have a clear role that places you in dialogue with the Dicasteries and other institutions that exercise their responsibility in the various areas related to protection. It is my expectation that you continue to achieve even greater cooperation with them, so that they may enrich your work with their knowledge. At the same time, they too can be enriched by the experience that the Commission has gained in these eleven years of service, particularly through the attentive and sincere listening that you offer to victims, to survivors and to their families. In this regard, the Commission’s Annual Report is a tool of great importance. It represents an exercise in truth and responsibility, as well as in hope and prudence, which must go hand in hand for the good of the Church. Hope prevents us from giving in to discouragement; prudence preserves us from improvisation and superficiality in addressing the prevention of abuse.

Ordinaries and Major Superiors also have a responsibility of their own that cannot be delegated. Listening to victims and accompanying them must find concrete expression in every ecclesial community and institution. I encourage you to continue to serve as a resource for them so that no community within the Church feels alone in this task. Indeed, the help you offer through the Memorare Initiative is invaluable. Supporting local Churches, especially where resources or expertise are lacking, means giving concrete expression to ecclesial solidarity. I look forward to receiving additional information in your third Annual Report on the encouraging progress already made, as well as on the areas in which further development is still required.

The Commission’s engagement with the Church at every level, with victims, survivors and their families as well as with civil society partners has prompted you to deepen your study in two rapidly developing areas of safeguarding: the concept of vulnerability in relation to abuse, and the prevention of technology-facilitated abuse of minors in the digital space. By reading these “signs of the times,” you help the Church to address safeguarding challenges courageously, and respond with pastoral clarity and structural renewal. This is already taking concrete form in the development of a Universal Guidelines Framework. I look forward to receiving the final proposal so that, after appropriate study and discernment, it can be published.

Dear friends, all of your efforts demonstrate that your mission is not simply the establishment of a formal process but a sign of communion and shared responsibility. Before concluding, let me reiterate that the protection of minors and persons in vulnerable situations is not an isolated area of ecclesial life, but a dimension that permeates pastoral care, formation, governance and discipline. Every step forward on this journey is a step towards Christ and towards a more evangelical and authentic Church.

I entrust your service to the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of wisdom and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you very much.

[Our Father, Blessing]

Thank you so much for your service, and may you have a truly blessed encounter in Rome during these days. And thank you for all you are doing to help the Church in our mission. Thank you.