NRVC part of Vatican child-protection meetings

Taking part in the Vatican meetings about child protection were, from left: Father George Mulligan, C.S.C., Praesidium religious accreditation staff member; Father Walter Deye, S.J., Praesidium advisory board member; Richard Dangle, Ph.D., president and CEO of Praesidium; Father Elias Lorenzo, O.S.B., advisory board member; Brother Paul; and Christy Schiller, Ph.D., Praesidium director of religious accreditation.

In late May, NRVC Executive Director Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C. joined a delegation from Praesidium, Inc. to meet with Vatican officials on the subject of child protection. As a result of Pope Francis’ recent establishment of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Praesidium was invited by the Vatican to present its one-of-a-kind program to representatives of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Gregorian University Center for Child Protection.

Brother Paul, who has served on the Praesidium Advisory Board since its inception, presented the vocation and formation perspective in the discussions.

Praesidium, Inc., an accrediting agency in the field of child protection, was contracted by the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) in 2002 to assist religious institutes in their compliance with national standards for child care and for the prevention of sexual abuse.