{"id":15006,"date":"2026-06-27T14:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/?p=15006"},"modified":"2026-06-27T14:39:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:39:29","slug":"international-working-party-advances-safeguarding-governance-across-the-congregation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/international-working-party-advances-safeguarding-governance-across-the-congregation\/","title":{"rendered":"Shared Responsibility: International Working Party Advances Safeguarding Governance Across the Congregation"},"content":{"rendered":"

By the International Safeguarding Team, Generalate, Rome<\/em><\/p>\n

From June 1\u20134, 2026, the International Safeguarding Working Party<\/strong> held its first in-person meeting in Rome, bringing together representatives from across the Congregation to continue the work of strengthening safeguarding governance.<\/p>\n

The meeting marked an important step in the Congregation\u2019s ongoing commitment to building systems and structures that strengthen safeguarding at every level. Safeguarding is everyone\u2019s responsibility<\/strong>, and this shared responsibility calls for clear, sustainable, and representative models of governance that can help the Congregation respond faithfully to the Good Shepherd mission around the world.<\/p>\n

The International Safeguarding Team has been entrusted with accompanying this process and developing stronger systems and structures to support safeguarding in the 67 countries where our mission is present. In Rome, members of the International Safeguarding Working Party deepened their collaboration, reflected on the needs of the Congregation, and continued shaping a governance model that can support safeguarding in a consistent and practical way.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The International Safeguarding Team (left to right: Safeguarding Director Michael Walker, Congregational Delegate for Safeguarding Sr Niluka Perera, Governance Officer for Safeguarding Michael Elphick, and Safeguarding Training Coordinator Manuel Mart\u00ednez Arteaga)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This work began earlier in the year with the formation of two representative groups from across the Congregation: The Grupo de Referencia de Salvaguardia<\/strong> y el International Safeguarding Working Party<\/strong>. Both groups are working closely with the International Safeguarding Team to develop a sustainable model of governance for safeguarding in the Congregation.<\/p>\n

The Safeguarding Reference Group, composed of representatives from all Circles of the Congregation, held its first meeting during the Congregational Safeguarding Conference in February 2026. At the conclusion of the conference, each Circle nominated one representative to serve on the International Safeguarding Working Party. The meeting in Rome built on this foundation, creating space for dialogue, reflection, and shared planning among those entrusted with carrying this work forward.<\/p>\n

The Congregation\u2019s approach to safeguarding is grounded in three core principles:<\/p>\n

Solidarity:<\/strong> A commitment to the common good that prioritizes protecting vulnerable individuals, fosters shared responsibility across provinces and regions, and prioritizes justice over institutional self-protection.<\/p>\n

Subsidiarity<\/strong>: Recognizing that authority should be exercised at the most appropriate local level to ensure that safeguarding, prevention, and response are responsive to local realities while being supported by congregational structures.<\/p>\n

Synodality:<\/strong> Walking together through listening, dialogue, participation, and discernment to enable shared ownership of safeguarding responsibilities and decision-making processes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Working Party meeting provided an important opportunity to advance several key areas of work. Participants reviewed and finalized the Congregational Safeguarding Annual Report 2025<\/strong>, expected to be published at the end of June 2026. The group also discussed a draft model for regional safeguarding governance, which is designed to strengthen responsibility, accountability, and support at the regional and local levels.<\/p>\n

The Working Party’s feedback, insights, and recommendations have helped further shape this emerging governance model. While significant progress was made, the model will continue to be refined through consultation with leaders and safeguarding representatives across the Congregation. The three-day meeting also allowed the group to identify priorities for the next phase of work and prepare for its next gathering in November 2026.<\/p>\n

The commitment, wisdom, and generous contributions of the International Safeguarding Working Party have helped to strengthen a shared vision for safeguarding governance, shaped by the lived realities, experiences, and responsibilities <\/strong>of the Congregation in different contexts.<\/p>\n

The Rome gathering is a visible sign of the Congregation\u2019s commitment to promoting a culture of care, accountability, and protection<\/strong>, and to ensuring that safeguarding is embedded in its life, mission, and ministries worldwide. Through this ongoing process, the Congregation continues to build the systems and structures needed to ensure that safeguarding is not only committed to policy but is also a shared responsibility lived out across the global Good Shepherd mission.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the International Safeguarding Team, Generalate, Rome From June 1\u20134, 2026, the International Safeguarding Working Party held its first in-person meeting in Rome, bringing together representatives from across the Congregation to continue the work of strengthening safeguarding governance. The meeting marked an important step in the Congregation\u2019s ongoing commitment to building systems and structures that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safeguarding"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Picture-1_main.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15006"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15014,"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15006\/revisions\/15014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}