Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC): 60 students receive certification in prevention of abuse and promotion of healthy environments
“I would like to thank those who have had the concern and perseverance to carry out this program. A very significant experience that has to fill us all with a lot of hope, in the sense that we care about what is happening and that it has to do with the way we position ourselves in the society we are called to serve” . With these words, the dean of the Faculty of Theology , Prof. Fernando Berríos , welcomed the certification ceremony of the first version of the Diploma in Abuse Prevention and Promotion of Healthy Environments .
This program carried out in conjunction with the Delegation of Truth and Peace of the Archbishopric of Santiago, began on August 4, 2021 and brought together about 60 people from all over Chile united by an active commitment to the prevention of abuses and promotion of healthy environments in their communities.
The Grand Chancellor of the UC and Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Celestino Aós; the Vice Grand Chancellor of the UC, Fr. Thomas Scherz; the dean of the Faculty of Theology, Prof. Fernando Berríos; the episcopal delegate for Truth and Peace, Andrea Idalsoaga ; the director of Relations with the Environment of the Faculty of Theology, Prof. Román Guridi; and the entire UC Theology Continuing Education team.
This program carried out in conjunction with the Delegation of Truth and Peace of the Archbishopric of Santiago, began on August 4, 2021 and brought together about 60 people from all over Chile united by an active commitment to the prevention of abuses and promotion of safe environments. healthy in their communities
The first to speak was the Vice Grand Chancellor of the UC, Fr. Tomás Scherz , who stated that he was “very happy and proud that we are involved in this promotion of a “healthy environment”, due to the painful circumstance of having to foresee abuses in ecclesial environments. Being able to do this training (…) fills the university with pride”, since “it is not a traditional course, it is training precisely for those who are in the ecclesial environment”, which “helps everyone”.
Regarding learning and the tools provided in this course, Monsignor Celestino Aós called for “this effort should not be limited or narrowed down to a small field, but to the entire gospel, which is our point of reference where we find our dignity. and the way we treat each other.”
In this line, he emphasized that: “first, the commitment is with oneself, in how I am going to improve my treatment with others and, secondly, it is that we are responsible for the environment that exists, and if I have received from God the grace of this diploma, now I have to make this bear fruit and put it at the service of others as brothers and sons of the same Father”.
The delegate for Truth and Peace, Andrea Idalsoaga, welcomed these words and this call , emphasizing that this path must be followed with humility. “It is a path that must be done with humility, because we are constantly learning, we do not know everything. We are doing this hand in hand, which is a very good thing.” She also stressed that “We will be an instrument to achieve the Church that the Lord wants.”
It is a path that must be done with humility, because we are constantly learning, we do not know everything. We are doing this hand in hand, which is a very good thing” – Andrea Idalsoaga, episcopal delegate for Truth and Peace
Currently, the diploma in Prevention of abuse and promotion of healthy environments in ecclesial contexts is in its second version, which is carried out online and has about 45 students from all over Chile.