A new safeguarding policy which sets higher standards for the Church when it comes to handling cases involving minors, adults and vulnerable people has been published by the Church in Malta and Gozo.

The Church’s Head of Safeguarding Mark Pellicano said in a launch on Tuesday morning that the new policy establishes the standards which the Church wants to follow: having a safer Church and a Church which takes care of victims.

He said that responsibility, accountability and transparency are at the centre of this policy. “We are taking a victim-centred approach,” Pellicano explained, before adding that the Church has an obligation to report, to protect those reporting, and to safeguard the wellbeing of the victim.

The new policy establishes good practice guidelines and standards for how to set boundaries, online behaviour, behaviour in one-to-one situations, physical contact, sexual contact, and about safeguarding concerns.

It also establishes a path for safe recruitment: for a person to be granted a Certificate for Safeguarding Clearance they must now present a police conduct certificate, clearance under the Protection of Minors Act, a signed declaration form, two reference letters, and attend regular safeguarding training.

Pellicano explained that every Church entity must also have a Designated Safeguarding Officer.

The policy offers mechanisms and structures which work to prevent abuse from happening, but also insists on the importance of safeguarding commissions working hand in hand with the police, child protection agencies, and other regulatory authorities.

The scope of the safeguarding policy has also been widened. Previously focused mainly on sexual abuse, it now incorporates other safeguarding concerns such as emotional, spiritual, physical, and online transgressions with a particular focus on the safeguarding of minors – who in this policy are defined as being all those under 18 years of age – and vulnerable adults.

“Safeguarding policies keep evolving, which is why the Church must remain vigilant to these changes.  We intend to revise the policy throughout its implementation and make changes where and when necessary,” Pellicano said.

Archbishop Charles J Scicluna said that there are new realities, such as the internet – which he said can be a platform for good, but also a platform for abuse – which the Church has to react to.

“We understand that while we are presenting a policy which is very open and very detailed, we will need to evaluate how it is being worked and even improve it in the future,” he said.

“We are part of a process – a process which fundamentally ensures that the church’s environments are safe.  That’s an essential priority,” he continued.

Scicluna said that even from his work abroad he knows first-hand that parents seek, first and foremost, a safe environment for their children to be in.

“We need to ensure that when parents trust their children to the environments of the Church, they can have their minds at rest that we are doing everything we can so that the environment they are in is safe,” he said.

He commended the fact that the policy is now also looking not just at minors, but at vulnerable adults, saying that there is an ongoing process of recognition of this in the Church across the world.

“The fact that we have a structure, that we can trust an investigation, and offer care to the victims then makes our pastoral experience better,” he said.

Gozo Bishop Anton Teuma said that the beauty of the Church is when it shows that it is capable of stopping and recognising where it can improve.  “This reflects humility,” he said.

He spoke about prevention, saying that this is part of the Safeguarding Commission’s work and expressing his hope that the work is so strong that these “heartbreaking” cases do not happen in the first place.

He pointed out however that at the same time, one cannot forget the need for the Church’s spirit and replace it with structure.

“We cannot allow the spirit of love and care towards children and the vulnerable to be changed out of fear of rules and structures.  We cannot get to a point where we do not help these people due to the fear of making a mistake or being judged wrongly, as that would be a shortcoming as well,” he said.

The first safeguarding initiative set up by the Church was the Response Team in 1999, which focused on conducting preliminary inquiries into allegations of sexual abuse by pastoral functionaries.

In February 2015, this was replaced by the Safeguarding Commission which began to promote prevention of all types of abuse while also working closely with civil authorities where necessary. The Gozo Diocese set up its own Safeguarding Commission in 2022.