By Nirmala Carvalho
Mumbai: Pope Francis has inducted Sister Arina Gonsalves into the Pontifical Commission for Protection of Minors.
The Religious of Jesus and Mary nun has a long history of personal involvement with the Archdiocese of Mumbai to protect children.
The Vatican announced her appointment on February 17.
“I am very honored for this appointment,” Sister Gonsalves told AsiaNews. “It is a great privilege for me to serve and contribute to the universal Church from India.”
In 2016, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, chose her as a member of the expert group for child protection. According the activist nun abuses of minor occur in schools and even in orphanages.
Cardinal Gracias, who was recently elected president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, welcomed Sister Gonsalves’ appointment.
“I am very happy with the choice of Sister Arina,” he said. “This way we will have an Indian voice with great experience helping the universal Church. She has been at our side for years and thanks to her experience she will be able to make a notable contribution to the Church.”
The Bombay archdiocese set up a committee for the protection of minors in 2016 with the aim of raising awareness about the Protection of Children from the Sexual Offenses Act of 2012, and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013.
Sister Gonsalves says her mission “is to prevent [violence] and protect vulnerable children and adults by raising their awareness. The Catholic Church really wants to help children and we must do everything possible to protect minors.”
Sadly, “In Indian newspapers we read about child abuse in schools and even in orphanages. We must do everything to protect them.”
The nun noted that Cardinal Gracias has issued in 2016 “guidelines to combat sexual harassment. All this will help the Church’s mission to protect children and vulnerable adults.”
She is among the nine new members of the 16-member Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Cardinal Seán O’Malley has been confirmed as its chair.
The other new members are Benyam Dawit Mezmur (Ethiopia), Neville Owen (Australia), Sinalelea Fe’ao (Tonga), Myriam Wijlens (Netherlands), Ernesto Caffo (Italy), Sr Jane Bertelsen (UK), Teresa Kettelkamp (US), and Nelson Giovanelli Rosendo Dos Santos (Brazil).
The seven returning members are: Gabriel Dy-Liacco (Philippines), Monsignor Luis Manuel Alì Herrera (Colombia), Jesuit Father Hans Zollner (Germany), Hanna Suchocka (Poland), Sr Kayula Lesa (Zambia), Sr Hermenegild Makoro (South Africa), and Monsignor Robert Oliver (US).