Pope Leo XIV: Protecting minors is essential for life of the Church

"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."

Pope Leo XIV stressed this in his address to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors on Monday in the Vatican, expressing his gratitude to them all for their work to protect children, adolescents, and persons in vulnerable situations."It is a demanding service, sometimes silent, often burdensome, but one which," Pope Leo said, "is essential for the life of the Church and for the building of an authentic culture of care."

Pope Leo recalled that Pope Francis placed the Commission 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."

With this in mind, the Holy Father suggested that a path of conversion, in which the suffering of others is heard, must continue to propel them to take action, with the experiences of victims and survivors as essential reference points.

While they are certainly painful and difficult to hear, Pope Leo recognized, "these experiences powerfully bring the truth to light and teach us humility as we strive to assist victims and survivors." He added that it is through the recognition of the pain that has occurred that a credible path for hope and renewal is opened.

The Pope also encouraged the Commission to learn from being part of the Roman Curia, cooperate with it, and likewise enrich the Curia with its own experience