We Affirm That

Children and young people are precious gifts of God and deserve care and protection as their fundamental right.

We Acknowledge Our Responsibility

We acknowledge our responsibility to protect children and young people in our care from:

• Physical abuse of any kind
• Sexual exploitation of any form
• Emotional or psychological stress
• Inaccessibility due to disabilities of any form
• Racial, communal, or cultural discrimination
• Cyber, online, and mobile bullying

We Commit Ourselves To

• Including children and young people in all aspects of the life of the Church, whether liturgical, sacramental, diaconal, or missional, as well as in its decision-making structures

We Accept

• The duty to report abuse the moment it is identified, within a context of zero tolerance for abuse
• The responsibility to recruit people who interact with children and young people with the utmost care
• The obligation to have appropriate risk-management and risk-mitigation principles and mechanisms in place
• The need to ensure that the physical structures of buildings and spaces are safe and accessible to all children and young people