The Promotion of a Consistent Culture of Protection Project (PCCP) is a part of the work of the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat (SJES). What is it up to these days? The Project Coordinator, John Guiney SJ, has had the opportunity to update Father General and his Assistants last week. Here are the highlights of his presentation.

By John Guiney SJ, PCCP Coordinator

The work of the PCCP aligns itself to the second UAP, Walking with the Excluded. It calls us to commit ourselves to help eliminate abuses inside and outside the Church, seeking to ensure that victims are heard and properly helped, that justice is done, and that harm is healed.

This commitment provides a clear focus and direction for the work in PCCP since its initiation in 2018. Safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults is a work of justice. In the Society of Jesus, it is core to the mission of healing and reconciliation.

Global mapping - 2019-2020

During 2019 and 2020, PCCP conducted a global mapping exercise to assess safeguarding practices across the Society. PCCP issued its first Report outlining the findings and noted that much work had been done to build policies and protocols and do some training, but it also recognized that much more was needed to be done. The findings and recommendations were communicated to Major Superiors, and Conference Safeguarding Delegates.

Commitment to minimum standards - 2021

Our work in accompanying Provinces, Regions and Conferences continued with the publication of our second Report in April 2021 that communicated a shared vision, mission and commitment to implement the three minimum standards of safeguarding practice:

• Policy and guidelines for ethical behaviour and safe environments

• Protocols for dealing with allegations, case management and victim accompaniment

• Ongoing training and formation

Also included were 15 indicators of implementation to guide actions to enhance compliance and commitment. The report was accompanied by a letter of 13 May 2021 from Fr. General titled ‘On the implementation of minimum standards of safeguarding in the Society of Jesus during this Ignatian Year’. It requested Major Superiors to prioritize implementation of the three minimum standards, to ensure that a properly functioning audit system is in place in each Province and Region, and to report on progress to the PCCP Project. Fr. General’s letter was unequivocal: Our commitment to prevention and protection will only become a lived reality when we can show that these three standards are implemented in every community and apostolic work of the Society.

Global Safeguarding Audit - 2022

The PCCP designed a Global Safeguarding Audit during 2021 to support the Major Superiors in this work, and the audit commenced in January 2022 across all Provinces and Regions in the Society.

The response rate to the Audit was 100%, which is indicative of the strong commitment to safeguarding across the Society. The progress since the 2019 baseline survey is notable – policies, training and protocols are present in all places with few exceptions. Also noteworthy are plans for follow up in improving training and updating policies. PCCP’s creation of a safeguarding toolkit will continue to be helpful in supporting consistent development of policies and protocols.

Ongoing collaboration and networking

PCCP is a work of the whole Society. Dialogue with the different sectors in the past year has been very fruitful.

Ongoing dialogue and exchange between key actors in different works on successful safeguarding actions is key to the transformation of the culture of protection. As an example, the safeguarding policies and action plans of the Xavier Network - the network of Jesuit NGOs and Mission offices of Europe, Australia, Canada, and the USA - dovetails with all the recommendations made by PCCP in promoting a culture of protection. The Xavier Network has hundreds of partners in different parts of the world including the network of Fe y Alegría.

We recognize that we are a family of God on a learning trajectory in transforming our cultures into places of kindness, care and mutual respect. A culture where Gospel values shape all our relationships. Promoting in action the Gospel of care is indeed the goal of PCCP.