Nairobi, 31 July, 2026 / 11:45 pm (ACI Africa).
Safeguarding within the Church and in theInstitutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life(ICLSAL) is about authentic authority rooted in responsibility, accountability and transparency, and not about “importing secular governance into the Church”, African Catholic Sisters in the legal profession have been told.
In his address at theJuly 30–31 ConferenceofCatholic Sisters in the Legal Profession(CASILEP) in Nairobi, the Legal Consultant at the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors said safeguarding has not given the Church a new mission but has transformed how the Church understands its responsibility to carry out the mission it has always received from Christ.
“Safeguarding has purified our understanding of authority. It has reminded us that authentic authority cannot be separated from responsibility, accountability, and transparency. This does not mean importing secular models of governance into the Church,” Francesco Pappalardo said in his presentation on Thursday, July 30.
Dr. Pappalardo explained that safeguarding “means recognizing that authority is never an end in itself. It is justified only by service. When authority protects, accompanies, and listens, it reflects the faith of Christ.”
Funded by Conrad N. Hilton Foundationand hosted atDonum Dei, Roussel Housein Karen, Nairobi, the two-day conference is guided by the theme, “Prophetic Witness of Catholic Sisters in Canon and Civil Matters: Learning, Connecting and Building a Community of Practice for the Common Good.”
