KENYA: Jesuits in Africa Emphasize Need to Overcome “Silence” to Safeguard African Child
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
In response to Pope Francis’ call to God’s people to strive towards ending abuses of whatever kind committed against minors and vulnerable people in the Church and society, theologians and scholars have highlighted the need to openly speak out about these abuses noting that “silence is no longer an option.”
Speaking at a webinar session organized by the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) themed “African Child: promoting a consistent culture of protection, care and safeguarding in Church and society,” Fr. Lawrence Daka stated that silence has caused great harm in the Church and society.
“This silence is emblematic and symptomatic of the so many challenges that have bedevilled and obfuscated what is demanded of responsible, transparent, and accountable leaders in the Church and society in general,” Fr. Daka a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit) said while addressing online participants on Wednesday, April 28.
He said that silence on issues of abuse is embedded at different levels in the society including Institutional, traditional and cultural… and families have also contributed to the ragging power of silence and not considering the agency of the child.”
In his presentation themed; “Responsibility, accountability, and transparency; the role of leadership in protection and safeguarding,” the Jesuit cleric who is the Rector of St. Ignatius College Chishawasha Catholic Archdiocese of Harare, Zimbabwe shared that “Breaking the culture of silence is more achievable when adults and leaders in traditional societies speak the same language with Church and civic leaders.”
He emphasized that the leadership in the Church and society “can no longer be bystanders in the face of abuse and “must create necessary conditions for victims to get out of their silent mode.”
At the same time he said, for the Church to move forward “a new leadership outfit is needed which is not afraid of facing the wounds of the Church but one which allows God’s grace to transform it.”
Giving reference to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Vos Estis Lex Mundi (you are the light of the world) promulgated in May 2019 in an attempt to address the global scandal of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church, Fr. Daka noted that the Pope’s letter “makes it mandatory for Roman Catholic clergy to report cases of clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups to the Church.”
Thus the Jesuit priest said, “Leadership in the Church needs rethinking so that it is collaborative, discerning, and constantly taking the young people as instrumental and critical for their own formation.”
As a way forward, Fr. Daka told participants during the virtual international colloquium, “There is need for urgent conversion and restructuring of the local church, leading to healing, and restoration of the dignity of life for every child, and at the same time every discussion, conversation and narrative in the Church today should not exclude the topic of safeguarding.”
In his opening speech during the event, JCAM President Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator highlighted that the three-day forum that concluded Friday, April 30, aims “to engender a culturally sensitive and contextually relevant methodology for combating and eliminating the evil of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.”
He quoted Pope Francis’ message during the global meeting on “The Protection of Minors in the Church” saying, “Our work has made us realize once again that the gravity of the scourge of sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies.”
Additionally, “the colloquium contributes to the emergence of a consistent culture of protection and safety for minors and vulnerable persons, that is, a normal, habitual way of living, relating and working, in which children and vulnerable persons always feel respected, safe and loved,” the Kenya-based Jesuit leader disclosed.
