Protection of Persons in situations of Vulnerability
1. Name of the Commission:
General Commission for the protection of persons in situations of vulnerability.
2. General purposes of the Commission
The purpose of this Regulation is to describe the objectives, composition, functions and scope of action of the Commission for the protection of persons in situations of vulnerability in Saint John of God Hospitaller Order, in order to ensure that everyone has a place to safeguard them wherever the Order is present.
3. Practical objectives and the Commission’s working method
a) To draft policies and general guidelines applicable to the whole Order in the areas of formation, prevention and action whenever any allegations of abuse are made in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Church and in compliance with the civil and criminal law of each country in which the Order is present.
b) To revise and update the Order’s general protocols and procedures for the protection of persons in situations of vulnerability.
c) To gather information on the state of the Order worldwide in relation to this issue.
d) To promote the establishment of a Commission for the Protection of persons in situations of vulnerability.
e) In every Province of the Order, laying down guidelines for their establishment.
f) To lay down guidelines for drafting formation and sensitisation modules for Brothers and Co-workers, in coordination with the General Commission on the Initial and Ongoing Formation and the School of Hospitality.
g) To foster the
implementation of provincial policies to safeguard people against any abuse .
h) To support the Provincial Commissions with the drafting of internal procedures for identifying and reporting allegations of abuse.To support the Provincial Commissions in the identification and evaluation of risk situations, including the psychosocial risk factors that may result from the form of organization and the content of the work, in particular:
of the people in situation of vulnerability, assisted in the Works and Services of the Order, in regime of hospitalization, ambulatory or of support to domicile;
of the Brothers and Co-workers in the broadest sense of the term according to the article 21 of the General Statutes of the Order. Especially assess the risks and prevent them;
i) To Promote initiatives for research in this field;
j) To Coordinate with the General Commission of Bioethics in order to create synergies between the two Commissions;
4. Composition of the Commission
Bro José Augusto Gaspar LOURO, Responsible
Fr Damián ASTIGUETA, SJ. Gregorian University (Rome), vocal
Dr Maria CORRIGAN, Designated Liaison Person, (DLP), West European Province, vocal
Fr. Luis Orlando TORRES SANTOS, s.j. (Rector of the International College of Jesus - Rome). vocal
Bro Andrés Sène, Secretary
5. Accompanying and assisting the Provincial Commissions
The General Commission for the Protection of persons in situations of vulnerability shall maintain close relations with the Provincial Commissions and shall animate their work, requesting any information it may require and circulating all the documentation produced by the General Commission.
The General Commission, through its Head and Secretary, shall remain at the disposal of the Provinces and Provincial Commissions to supply any advice or information they may require.
The Provinces shall designate a liaison person (the Head of the Provincial Commission for the Protection of Vulnerable People) to maintain all contacts with the General Commission. Until the Provincial Commission is established, all contacts shall pass directly through the Provincial Superior or his deputy.
The General Commission shall study the most appropriate ways of accompanying the Provinces and Provincial Commissions, by appointing one of its members to be present in the Provinces, when necessary.
If deemed appropriate, meetings may be convened of the Heads of the Provincial Commissions and the General Commission to deal with specific issues or to frame them.
6 Frequency of meetings
The Commission shall normally meet three times a year according to its own calendar.
Other extraordinary meetings may be convened if necessary, either physically or by teleconferencing, to address urgent matters.
Meetings shall be convened by the Head of the Commission through its Secretary, with at least 20 days’ notice for the scheduled meetings. Emergency meetings shall be convened as soon as possible.
The venue and the logistical arrangements for its meetings shall be decided and guaranteed through consultation with the Secretary Committee.
7. Minuting meetings and forwarding the minutes to the General Commission
The Secretary of the general commission shall draft the minutes of every meeting and forward them to the members of the Commission as soon as possible before convening the following meeting.
The Minutes shall be archived by the Secretary-General of the Curia.
A copy of the Minutes shall be forwarded to the Superior General.
The Secretary shall send to all the members of the Committee the notice and the agenda of the next meeting in advance as indicated in the previous point.
8. Adoption of the Rules
These Rules and any amendments that may be proposed in future shall be adopted by the General Definitory, acting on a proposal of the Commission Head.
