Statement of Fr. Nuno da Silva Gonçalves SJ, Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University

On April 15 of this year, the Congregation for Catholic Education approved the Statutes of the new Institute of Anthropology. Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care, a transformation of the Centre for Child Protection (CCP). This conversion – proposed by the CCP, approved by the Board of Directors following the Senate hearing, and now confirmed by the Congregation for Catholic Education – creates a new institutional framework for the work the CCP has done so far. Furthermore, the new Institute will be able to have its own faculty and award, in addition to the diploma, the academic degrees of Licentiate in Safeguarding and Doctorate in Anthropology.

With this decision, our University reiterates and intensifies its commitment to the work of protecting minors and vulnerable people and supporting safe environments which promote respect for human dignity. At the same time, this conversion will deepen the interdisciplinary dimension of education and research, recognized by all as fundamental to addressing issues surrounding abuse and its prevention.

The new Institute will officially begin its activities on 1 September 2021, managing all activities entrusted currently to the Centre for Child Protection.

At this time of transformation, I would like to thank Fr. Hans Zollner and the current CCP team for their work since the founding of the Centre in 2012, and wish the best of luck to the future Institute of Anthropology that will take its place. I take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the many donors and partners who, with their generosity, make the CCP’s daily work possible. They also deserve recognition for their contribution to this important event of transformation that represents a new beginning.