Caribbean at the forefront of the culture of care

Representatives from the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico participated in the 2nd Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of Episcopal Commissions for the Prevention of Abuse, which concluded September 5.

Yimel Julián González Gálvez is the lawyer of the Cuban Conference of Catholic Bishops and executive secretary of the National Prevention Commission, chaired by Bishop Gabriel Díaz Ruiz of Matanzas.

He told ADN Celam that in the Church of Cuba the institutional framework is made up of two bodies: the National Prevention Commission that establishes the guidelines, and the listening offices in each diocese “made up of different specialists.”

The Cuban layman commented that since 2019, “the bishops created the commission charged with drafting the guidelines by mandate of the Holy See,” although “years before there were some attempts at drafting, but they had not been completed until this commission was created with a better structure in 2019.”

A code of conduct was also created, because “the guidelines are two blocks, the first block deals with prevention and the second block addresses matters related to action, reporting and compensation for victims.”

From the Dominican Republic, Bro Jit Manuel Castillo de la Cruz of the Franciscan Minor Brothers is part of the Commission for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults in the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo.

He said the meeting has shown the path that “other countries are taking in terms of the culture of prevention”, of course, “the road is still arduous, but we are leaving charged with energy to continue the work in such a necessary and important area”.

In the Dominican Republic “all dioceses at this time have a protocol for the protection of minors, the creation of the National Commission and the various ramifications that this commission must have in the different dioceses.” He is leaving “with great enthusiasm” to continue working in “connection with other commissions and to have the possibility of promoting many initiatives to be implemented in our country” with the possibility of inter-institutional agreements, for example, with the Pontifical Commission, Caritas International, among other institutions.

Rev Gilberto Martínez, executive secretary of the Commission for the Protection of Minors for the Episcopal Conference of Puerto Rico, said they have been struggling with the problem of abuse for many years. “In the diocese where I come from [Mayagüez], there has been a programme for the protection of minors for ten years and it has encouraged others to organise themselves in this very important task.”

For Rev Martínez, “the well-being and safety of our young people and children, on whom the future rests, is paramount. We are going to give them a world where they can develop and be happy, living their full potential.”

“We are not alone, we are not just a small island, but we are part of a whole that looks towards a bright future, a future full of hope, where we all feel safe,” he concluded.