The Lay Centre community welcomed Rev. Hans Zollner, SJ, a prominent figure in the Church’s safeguarding efforts and director of the Institute of Anthropology – Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The Lay Centre has housed a dozen IADC lay students and lecturers over the last few years.
On April 2, he presided over the Eucharist, joined the community for dinner, and later shared his personal journey in safeguarding during an evening of dialogue.
Fr. Zollner recounted how his commitment to safeguarding was born not from theory but from witnessing firsthand the Church’s silence and paralysis in the face of abuse. As a theologian and psychologist, he observed how ill-prepared Church leaders were to respond to the emerging crisis, particularly in Europe. This compelled him to act—co-founding the “Centre for Child Protection” in 2012, which later evolved into the IADC in 2021, adopting a broader interdisciplinary approach to human dignity and care.
Grounded in collaboration across theology, psychology, law, sociology, and medicine, the IADC advocates for co-responsibility: safeguarding is not optional. Fr. Zollner emphasized that when Jesus identifies with the most vulnerable, the suffering of victims becomes the suffering of Christ.
Safeguarding, he stressed, is not merely about protection—it reflects the very identity of the Church.
The scale of sexual abuse globally is staggering, with data showing that one in five girls and one in seven boys experience sexual abuse.
While acknowledging progress, Fr. Zollner warned that many parts of the world—particularly in Africa, Asia, Latin America and certain regions of Europe—have yet to fully confront the abuse crisis.
Drawing from his work in over 75 countries, he said that safeguarding must become an essential and hope-filled mission for all, characterized by safe relationships, systems, and spaces. He noted that victims often identify spiritual and emotional abuse as equally or even more damaging than physical acts, underscoring the need for trauma-informed formation and compassionate pastoral care.
In his wide-ranging reflection, Fr. Zollner emphasized that the global reality of abuse—especially within the Church—remains deeply unresolved. One of the most critical challenges, he said, is for the Church to fully take ownership of the issue, not merely at an institutional level, but as a fundamental expression of our Christian identity and mission.
He urged that safeguarding must not be viewed as a burdensome task, but rather as an essential and hope-filled calling for all of us: to create safe spaces, relationships, and systems.
