Promise to Protect, Pledge to Heal.
Pope Francis urged the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to press forward: “Be sentinels who keep watch while the world sleeps. May the Holy Spirit preserve us from the temptation to file pain away instead of healing it.”
“Dilexit Nos,” Pope Francis’ fourth and final Encyclical – a reflection on our closeness to the heart of Christ. This encyclical teaches us that devotion to the heart of Jesus can open our own hearts to renewed ways to love God and our neighbor.
“He modeled humility and was able to say sorry when he was wrong,” Deacon Bernie Nojadera, executive director of the Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CNS in 2023.
Mrs. Suzanne Healy, Chair of the National Review Board interviewed the former Chair of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People (CPCYP), Most Rev. James V. Johnston, Jr., Bishop of Kansas City, St. Joseph, and Most Rev. Barry C...
The committee provides the bishops of the United States with comprehensive planning and recommendations concerning child and youth protection, in coordination with the National Review Board, as dictated by the Charter for the Protection of Children & Young People.
The secretariat has the following areas of responsibility: provide support and assistance to the National Review Board and Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, conduct diocesan audits, and exist as a resource for dioceses/eparchies.
The Catholic Church is absolutely committed to the safety of children. Together we can make a Promise to Protect, and a Pledge to Heal.
The 2024 Annual Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, published by the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection (SCYP) in June 2025, describes the progress of Catholic dioceses/eparchies in the United States, in implementing victim assistance and child protection policies and programs articulated within the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The report is based on an annual audit process, covering the audit year July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, by StoneBridge Business Partners.
Annual Report Archives
The Holy Father issued revised Motu Proprio Vos estis lux mundi for the worldwide response to the evil of sexual abuse. These norms, initially promulgated in 2019, are now permanent. This add to layers of response already in place in the United States including the Essential Norms and the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
These norms affect the global Church and require:
Bishops are also to be held accountable under the authority of this Motu Proprio, which covers sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable persons, sexual acts compelled through the abuse of authority, and any coverup or interference with the reporting of such crimes.
The norms also require that Church institutions comply with civil reporting laws.