Cardinal Suharyo launches child and adult protection protocol

The Indonesian cardinal, Ignatius Kardinal Suharyo, who also serves as the Archbishop of Jakarta diocese (KAJ), launched a protocol to protect children and vulnerable adults in January 2022, at the Cathedral Church in Jakarta.

Cardinal Suharyo said that the launch of this document is part of the genuine involvement and response of the Indonesian Catholic Church in responding to the call of humanity to respect human dignity.

"This protocol reflects the Church's commitment to human dignity," said Cardinal Suharyo.

Cardinal Suharyo said Pope Francis inspired the entire Church to create the “protocols” years ago.

In particular, the Jakarta Archdiocese (KAJ) responded by forming a Child-Friendly Church Team and Vulnerable Adults (Team 15) in August 2020.

"Team 15 was formed in response to Pope Francis' instructions and the KAJ Church's humanitarian call to the Indonesian people and nation," he said.

According to the Cardinal, the preparation of the Protocol required a lot of dialogue and with various parties, both internal to the Church, representatives of civil society and social and humanitarian observers, and experts in various scientific fields.

The cardinal explained that each diocese sends an annual statistical report on the condition and dynamics of pastoral evangelization every year.

However, specifically for reporting norms and procedures, they have been regulated in the Vademecum on Certain Points of Procedure in Treating Cases of Sexual Abuse of Minors Committed by Clerics (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 2020).

With the presence of this Protocol, the Cardinal felt the need to be interpreted as an invitation to all the faithful, laity, nuns, and priests.

In our creed, we say, "We are one holy catholic apostolic church. This confession is not a formula for the Church. So that the Church can be truly trusted, the procedure must be translated into rules, guidelines, and protocols, "he said.

Aside from that, the Cardinal believes the Catholic media can help make the Church more child-friendly and vulnerable adult-friendly. The media's usual role is to spread the message of protecting the Church for everyone, especially vulnerable children and adults, and to create an increasingly friendly environment.

Father Adi Prasojo, KAJ's Secretary-General, explained that the protocol has three parts. The first part, the introduction, discusses the protocol's purpose, goals, legal and religious foundation, and basic rules.

The second part includes protocol standards for prevention, case management, recovery, and compliance (compliance and monitoring). The third part comprises technical appendices.

Infanticide is rampant in Indonesia. In 2019, the Women's Protection Commission recorded 431,471 cases. This is a 6% increase over last year's 406,178 cases.

In 2020, there may be 299,911 cases of violence against women, a 31% decrease from 2019. Despite a slight decline, violent crime remains high.