From September 20 to 24, Father Hans Zollner SJ, director of the Institute of Anthropology, visited Bali at the invitation of the country’s Catholic bishops to lead a workshop on safeguarding.
During his stay, the Jesuit priest engaged with local bishops to better understand the cultural challenges the Church faces when implementing a safeguarding culture. With more than 1,300 distinct cultural groups living across a nation of over 280 million people, Zollner emphasized the need to take these unique contexts into account when shaping protection and care policies.
“I realize how important it is to find culturally adapted ways to implement safeguarding,” he noted.
In an interview with our site, Bishop Vitus Rubianto Solichin SX, Bishop of Padang (Sumatra) and head of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference Commission for Safeguarding and Ongoing Formation, underscored the urgency of this work. Drawing on Church teachings and guidelines, he described safeguarding as the Church’s “number one priority” in Indonesia.
“We all share the responsibility to seek a fundamental change of heart and mind, leading to a profound transformation in the culture of the Church’s life,” Bishop Solichin said.