Bill Kilgallon, director of the National Office for Professional Standards of the Catholic Church in New Zealand, has been attending a meeting in Rome of The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
The Plenary Assembly began with Mass with Pope Francis, in Santa Marta.
Members then focused their sessions on listening to and discussing progress reports presented by the Working Groups formed in the February 2015 Plenary.
Kilgallon is the leader of the group responsible for developing a template of guidelines, aimed at aiding bishops and religious communities forming guidelines of their own.
Speaking at a briefing after the meeting Kilgallon said that when it comes to protection against abuse, guidelines need to be implemented according to the customs of each country if they are to be effective.
“What we don’t want to do is impose something that we don’t have the power to impose.”
“But it won’t work if you try and impose something that’s the same for everybody,” he told Catholic News Agency.
Other Working Groups considered:
- Healing and care for victims, survivors and their families
- Formation of candidates to the priesthood and religious life and the education of Church leadership
- Education of families and communities
- Theology and spirituality
- Canonical and civil norms
Kilgallon moved to New Zealand from the UK in 2011 after a long career in social work and health care.
From 1978-2002 he worked as Chief Executive of St Anne’s Community Services (an organisation he had founded in 1971).
St Anne’s works with people who are homeless, people with alcohol and drug problems, people with learning disabilities and people with mental health problems.
It provides a wide range of housing and social care services across Yorkshire and the North East of England.
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