Pope Leo XIV met with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) June 5, marking their first formal audience.
The meeting included updates on the commission’s safeguarding initiatives and its role advising the Holy See on abuse prevention efforts, according to a June 6 statement from the commission members.
PCPM stated that the group continues “with humility and hope” in the mission Pope Francis gave it: to “advise the Supreme Pontiff in the development and promotion of universal safeguarding standards, and to accompany the Church in building a culture of accountability, justice, and compassion.”
During the audience, commission members reported on the development of a Universal Guidelines Framework for Safeguarding (UGF), which has been tested over the past two years through pilot programs in Tonga, Poland, Zimbabwe, and Costa Rica. The guidelines are described as being “deeply theological,” drawing on Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, and the teachings of Popes Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo.
“Our hope is to present the finalized Universal Guidelines Framework to the Holy Father later this year,” the commission stated. “In the meantime, we reaffirm our commitment to listening, walking with victims and survivors, and supporting every Church community in their efforts to safeguard all of God’s people with compassion.”
The commission also updated the Pope on the Memorare Initiative, a safeguarding support program focused on local churches, particularly in the Global South, that aims to provide practical support while respecting local autonomy.
The 2024 Annual Report was also discussed. First proposed by Pope Francis in 2022, the report is designed to evaluate local church safeguarding efforts. This year’s report centers on reparations and includes a study on conversional justice.
In comments given to Vatican News ahead of the meeting, Cardinal Seán O’Malley, archbishop emeritus of Boston and a founding member of the commission, emphasized that the Church’s safeguarding efforts must continue to focus on “the victims and their families.”
“The care and protection of children and young people needs to be central in our mission,” he said, warning that the Church’s credibility depends on whether people “are convinced that we care about their children.”
The cardinal highlighted the commission’s work in the Global South, where many churches are “only beginning to grapple with” abuse prevention and often lack basic infrastructure.
The cardinal also stressed the importance of transparency and cooperation with civil authorities, along with broader education throughout the Church. He noted that the group has taken on a larger role during bishops’ ad limina visits to Rome, helping ensure that safeguarding is addressed in official reports and discussions with Vatican offices.
“It has been such a privilege for me to have served on the Commission all these years, and to work with such wonderful and dedicated people on our staff, the members of the Commission,” Cardinal O’Malley concluded. “And I’m very, very grateful to Pope Francis for having founded it and having supported it. And I know the Commission is very anxious to work with Pope Leo going forward.”