«All spaces in the Church, whether physical or virtual, are truly places for a fruitful encounter with Jesus Christ, free from fears, suspicions and mistrust». It is the delivery entrusted by Leo Below, in our translation from Spanish, the Pope’s greeting to around forty representatives of the organization in Latin America.
In the name of the Father, of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you.
Good morning and welcome.
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to welcome you this morning, you who come from different Latin American countries, but who have a very clear common objective: to work so that ecclesial communities are safe places for everyone, especially for children, adolescents and the most vulnerable people. Thank you for being here and carrying out this very important task.
I would like to invite you to consider how the first disciples, as soon as they met Jesus, were enraptured by him, and that moment marked their lives forever to the point that they began a journey of conversion, to the point of giving themselves to Him without reservations. But this experience is not something of the past: all people are called to have this encounter with the Risen One and the opportunity to live a process of identification with Him. This, without a doubt, happens through evangelization, and this is where your work takes place: for there to be a true experience of love with the Lord, it is necessary that we have safe spaces. The encounter with Christ marks us in a positive way and projects us towards a life full of love and freedom, while exactly the opposite happens in situations of abuse, causing traumatic wounds that condition and limit the spiritual and human development of the person.
It is on the warning of the Lord himself that the mission you wanted to undertake is based, responding to the call of Christ, when he warns of the importance of not being a cause of scandal for the little ones (cf. Mt 18, 6). In my recent apostolic trip to Spain, I spoke to the bishops about the pain of those who have been hurt by those who had to take care of them, situations before which “the ecclesial community is called to respond with listening, truth, justice, reparation and an increasingly decisive commitment to prevention and the culture of care” (Meeting with the bishops of Spain8 June 2026). This task, although it is the primary responsibility of us who are called to be pastors, is a mandate for everyone in the Church, and some, like you, have even taken it on in the professional sphere.
I thank you and, at the same time, I encourage you to move forward with this great work, strengthening the collaboration networks between local Churches and civil institutions, promoting the culture of prevention and care for the most vulnerable. It is my desire that all spaces in the Church, whether physical or virtual, are truly places for fruitful encounters with Jesus Christ, free from fears, suspicions and mistrust.
Brothers and sisters, I entrust you to the protection of the Most Holy Virgin so that you continue to work for this dream and so that the entire ecclesial community participates more and more in it. And with these sentiments, I impart to you the Apostolic Blessing, which I extend to your families, your friends and other people dear to you. Thank you.
