Institute Of Anthropology. Interdisciplinary Studies On Human Dignity And Care (IADC)

The Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) is an academic institute of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. The Institute of Anthropology offers higher educational degrees in safeguarding and a Doctorate in Anthropology. The IADC has assumed the responsibilities of the Centre for Child Protection (CCP), which was launched in Munich in January 2012 by the Institute of Psychology of the Pontifical Gregorian University in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the State University Clinic of Ulm.

History

The Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) began its activities as an academic institute on September 1, 2021. Its responsibilities and academic activities include and further those of the Centre for Child Protection. The idea for the foundation of the IADC (then the CCP) came in 2011, when Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ (Director of the IADC at the Pontifical Gregorian University) and Prof. Jörg M. Fegert (Director of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the State University Clinic of Ulm) met during a working group meeting for the German Federal Government's Round Table on Child Sexual Abuse (initiated in response to the 2010 media storm spotlighting clerical sexual abuse in Germany.) At the same time, the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising learned about the idea and pledged to support it. Even from the outset, the project was understood to be a long-term response of ongoing education in safeguarding. It was decided to have a three-year pilot phase (January 2012December 2014) based in Munich with a steering committee consisting of Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ, Prof. Jörg M. Fegert, and Msgr. Klaus Peter Franzl for the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. The institute (at the time, still functioning as the CCP) launched its work with a Symposium "Towards Healing and Renewal" in 2012. During the pilot phase, two major conferences were organized to raise awareness about the work of the CCP in safeguarding, to study the situation, and to present the state of the question in the Catholic Church. The first conference took place in Freising from October 30, 2012 to November 1, 2012, entitled "Communication and Empowerment: Victims of Child Sexual Abuse". The second conference (November 7-8, 2013) was held in Munich on the topic, "Learning from the Past: Implications for the Future".

The primary project of the IADC (during this initial phase of its years as the CCP) was the development of a multilingual online education program on the prevention of child sexual abuse for pastoral professionals in working with partners around the world. In 2014, it was decided to move the headquarters of the centre to Rome. Since its foundation, it has functioned within the Pontifical Gregorian University.

Structure and organization

The IADC is part of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ is Director, and Msgr. Peter Beer serves as Head of Research and Development of the Institute's's educational programs. An international and interdisciplinary team staffs the office. A Consultative Committee accompanies the development as well as the activities of the IADC. It consists of international ecclesiastical and non-ecclesiastical experts in research and practice. The present members are Prof. Sheila the Baroness Hollins (Chair), Dr. Delphine Collin-Vezina, Dr. Gabriel Dy-Liacco, and Msgr. Stephen Rossetti.

Activities

The first mission of the Institute of Anthropology is to safeguard the vulnerable, educating to protect them from all kinds of abuse and any attempt to violate their integrity, both within the Catholic Church and in society. To this end, the institute has undertaken numerous activities, giving emphasis to research as well as academic formation and training. Beyond offering educational programs, it collaborates with an international academic network as well as with doctoral students in various fields (psychology, theology, spirituality, canon law, social sciences, etc.)

Educational programs

Blended learning: "Safeguarding: Our Commitment, a Program for the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Minors"

The IADC offers multilingual and multicultural blended learning training and qualification on different levels of expertise (academic and non-academic levels) for pastoral professionals, Church leaders, social workers, teachers, and also for university students. It was designed bearing in mind that people from all over the world would be utilizing it, hence the development of this certified educational program in five languages (English, Italian, German, French, and Spanish.) The institute has had partnerships in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Togo, Uruguay, and Zambia.

Diploma in safeguarding

The Diploma Course, offered in both Spanish and English, aims at training people involved in the field of safeguarding such as safeguarding officers, advisors, and collaborators in different professional environments like dioceses, religious congregations, and educational institutions. It also provides training for those who will be future trainers in the field of safeguarding in seminaries, formation houses, schools, etc.

Licentiate in safeguarding

The IADC offers an interdisciplinary licentiate degree in safeguarding, which is a two-year program that prepares its graduates to handle safeguarding situations using practical and theoretical competencies, allowing for safeguarding measures to be formed, implemented, and evaluated. Graduates with such a degree manage safeguarding teams and write culturally-tailored safeguarding measures for their particular professional environment.

Doctorate in anthropology

The doctorate is in a program comprising both study and research, which aims to educate specialists in the field of anthropological studies, with special focus given to human dignity and the care of vulnerable people.

Scientific publications

Publications by or associated with the IADC (as well as the CCP) include:
Toward Healing and Renewal: The 2012 Symposium on Sexual Abuse of Minors Held at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Available in 12 languagesChild Sexual Abuse in the Context of the Roman Catholic Church: A Review of Literature from 1981–2013
* ttps://www.amazon.com/Church-Abuse-Minors-Hans-Zollner/dp/9380066759/ Church and the abuse of minors. Available in 9 languages* ttps://moodle.unigre.it/pluginfile.php//183/profilefield_file/files_5/0/Publications%20Hans%20Zollner%202021a%2Epdf Articles and books by Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ

Conferences

The IADC both organizes and participates in international conferences, congresses, symposiums, etc. The Symposium "Towards Healing and Renewal" was organized from February 6, 2012, to February 9, 2012, at the Gregorian University in Rome. It was attended by approximately 220 people: bishops, priests, religious, and lay men and women with related experience (victims, psychotherapists, lawyers, etc.). In 2017, the IADC – at the time, the CCP – hosted a congress on "Child Dignity in the Digital World". Pope Francis addressed the Congress, during which a declaration was written, urging world leaders to do more to protect the privacy, dignity, and rights of minors in the digital world. From 2015 to 2018, the IADC – at the time, the Centre for Child Protection – annually hosted and co-organized the Anglophone Safeguarding Conferences.

References

External links

Pontifical Gregorian UniversityCentre for Child Protection
*Archdiocese of Munich and Freising
Convention on the Rights of the Child

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Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors