Episode 15: Episode XV: Susan Bissell

We begin here in Rome with a significant initiative involving the employees of the Holy See, On the 9th of October, more than 90 Vatican employees gathered for the first safeguarding seminar organized by the Labor Office of the Apostolic See in collaboration with the Vatican Governorate's Directorate of Health and Hygiene and with the expert contribution of the Commission.

The seminar, entitled Revalasti ea parvulis, or You Have Revealed These Things to Little Ones, examined the protection of minors and vulnerable adults within professional and institutional environments.

In a message addressed to participants, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the development of a culture of protection extending into everyday working relationships and digital spaces.

His intervention reinforced an important principle that safeguarding is a responsibility shared by everyone working within the church, regardless of their particular role or position.

Commission Secretary Monsignor Luis Manuel Ali Herrera led a working group on the culture of care, examining how professional and pastoral relationships can become sources of vulnerability when appropriate boundaries are absent.

He distinguished between rigid, diffuse and clear boundaries, explaining how healthy relationships require both empathy and an understanding of individual responsibilities.

As Monsignor Ali stated, clear boundaries protect.

Stefano Mattei, the Commission's Director of Policy in the annual report, who was featured on our last episode here on Inside Safeguarding, facilitated another discussion focusing on relational asymmetries, particularly the difference in authority, information and credibility that exist within institutional relationships.

These differences are often unavoidable, but they become dangerous when individuals feel unable to question authority or express disagreement or raise concerns without fearing consequences.

The seminar adopted a practical, participatory approach with working groups examining real-life situations and considering how greater transparency, supervision and awareness can help prevent abuse.

The significance of this seminar lies partly in the setting itself.

By bringing safeguarding formation directly into the Vatican workplace, the initiative recognises that a credible culture of protection must also be visible within the Holy See's own institutions.

We begin here in Rome with a significant initiative involving the employees of the Holy See, On the 9th of October, more than 90 Vatican employees gathered for the first safeguarding seminar organized by the Labor Office of the Apostolic See in collaboration with the Vatican Governorate's Directorate of Health and Hygiene and with the expert contribution of the Commission.

The seminar, entitled Revalasti ea parvulis, or You Have Revealed These Things to Little Ones, examined the protection of minors and vulnerable adults within professional and institutional environments.

In a message addressed to participants, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the development of a culture of protection extending into everyday working relationships and digital spaces.

His intervention reinforced an important principle that safeguarding is a responsibility shared by everyone working within the church, regardless of their particular role or position.

Commission Secretary Monsignor Luis Manuel Ali Herrera led a working group on the culture of care, examining how professional and pastoral relationships can become sources of vulnerability when appropriate boundaries are absent.

He distinguished between rigid, diffuse and clear boundaries, explaining how healthy relationships require both empathy and an understanding of individual responsibilities.

As Monsignor Ali stated, clear boundaries protect.

Stefano Mattei, the Commission's Director of Policy in the annual report, who was featured on our last episode here on Inside Safeguarding, facilitated another discussion focusing on relational asymmetries, particularly the difference in authority, information and credibility that exist within institutional relationships.

These differences are often unavoidable, but they become dangerous when individuals feel unable to question authority or express disagreement or raise concerns without fearing consequences.

The seminar adopted a practical, participatory approach with working groups examining real-life situations and considering how greater transparency, supervision and awareness can help prevent abuse.

The significance of this seminar lies partly in the setting itself.

By bringing safeguarding formation directly into the Vatican workplace, the initiative recognises that a credible culture of protection must also be visible within the Holy See's own institutions.