In 2019, Pope Francis summoned all the presidents of the bishops’ conferences, along with the heads of the different religious congregations, to gather in Rome for a three-day seminar on the protection of children and vulnerable adults.

“We want every activity and place of the Church always to be fully safe for minors,” Pope Francis said closing that summit. “We want all possible measures to be taken so that similar crimes aren’t repeated, and that the Church returns to being absolutely credible and trustworthy in its mission of service and education for the little ones, according to the teaching of Jesus.”

The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States acknowledges the call made by Pope Francis to “accept our responsibilities, our duty to do justice to the truth and to radically reject every from of abuse of power, abuse of conscience and sexual abuse.”

Though we have policies in place within our offices and ministries in the United States to try and create safe environments for all, we are committed to addressing abuse in all its forms throughout the world, and this includes mission territories, meaning places where the Catholic Church is too young or too poor to sustain itself.

Missionaries work in some of the most difficult and volatile areas of the world, and we are committed to creating and maintaining an environment which promotes human dignity and prevents abuse and exploitation. All the members of the network, from our Board of Directors to service providers a Save nd consultants are expected to treat others with respect, actively preventing harassment, abuse, and exploitation, and they are also obliged to report any concern or suspicion of criminal activities, including but not restricted to abuse or exploitation.