German Chancellor Visits Safeguarding Institute

ROME – On 7 October, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, visited the future home of the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Institute of Anthropology. Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care (IADC) at Villa Malta, headquarters of the Jesuit magazine, La Civiltà Cattolica.

Conversation between Institute Director and German Chancellor

According to the IADC director, Fr. Hans Zollner SJ, topics discussed with the Chancellor included the IADC’s work in education and the training of safeguarding experts in Rome and worldwide, and the call for justice for victims of abuse. Also discussed was the Institute's desire to contribute, together with similar institutions, to a different perception of the Church in the area of safeguarding.

Upcoming inauguration of the Institute

The new institute, formerly the Centre for Child Protection (CCP), will be inaugurated on Thursday 14 October and eventually be housed at Villa Malta. The IADC will continue the CCP’s work in safeguarding minors while broadening its research aims in order to proactively and positively contribute to scientific reflection on human dignity and the care of vulnerable persons.

Institute's future residence

Villa Malta has great cultural and historical significance for Rome’s German community, having hosted artists and personalities, including Johann Wolfgang Goethe.

Since 1950, it has been the headquarters of La Civiltà Cattolica, Italy’s oldest magazine, run by the Society of Jesus for the past 170 years.