Safeguarding is ‘Gospel imperative,’ bishop says

By CBCP News

Safeguarding is not merely a Church policy but a “Gospel imperative” that springs from the very heart of Christian love, a Catholic bishop said Monday, Oct. 20.

Presiding over the opening Mass of the first National Safeguarding Conference at the San Fernando Cathedral, Bishop Joel Baylon of Legazpi urged Church leaders to embrace safeguarding as a moral and spiritual responsibility.

“Safeguarding is not merely a program—it is a culture, a way of life. It is a way of being Church,” Baylon said in his homily during the liturgy presided over by Archbishop Florentino Lavarias of San Fernando, chairman of the CBCP Office for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons.

“It means forming consciences, nurturing empathy, listening deeply to stories of pain, and empowering every member of the community—lay and ordained—to be guardians of one another’s dignity,” he said.

He stressed that genuine safeguarding begins with personal conversion and a firm commitment to mirror God’s love and mercy in all relationships, ministries, and forms of service.

The four-day conference in the Clark area gathered more than 370 bishops, safeguarding officers from dioceses and religious congregations, and pastoral workers from the Philippines and neighboring countries.

Organized by the CBCP Office for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, the event seeks to strengthen Church protection mechanisms and promote pastoral care for survivors.

Baylon acknowledged the “painful reality of abuse and betrayal of trust” that continues to wound the Church, particularly the harm inflicted upon children and vulnerable adults under clerical care.

He said the Church’s response must always be guided by truth and compassion, never by silence, indifference, or denial of the suffering of victims.

“Accountability and compassion are not opposites; they are two hands of the same Body of Christ,” he said. “One hand protects the vulnerable; the other seeks to heal the sinner.”

The bishop said safeguarding must be rooted in the Gospel’s call to love as God loves, confronting wrongdoing with courage and walking with those who seek repentance.

He added that protecting the vulnerable is an act of worship that honors Christ Himself, “who said, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.’”

“Safeguarding is not only about preventing harm—it is about revealing the heart of God,” Baylon said. “It is about creating communities where love is stronger than fear, truth is stronger than denial, and mercy is stronger than shame.”

Delegates from the Archdiocese of Caceres attend the National Safeguarding Conference on Oct. 20-23 in Clark, Pampanga. (Photo credit: Fr. Jhonan’z Vibar, Chairperson of the Caceres Office for Women and Children Protection)