Pastoral and Practical Responses to Those Who Have Perpetrated Abuse
USG–UISG Safeguarding Commission Webinar
9 November 2026 (online)
With Dr Irma Patricia Espinosa Hernández
A webinar organised by the USG–UISG Safeguarding Commission exclusively for Superiors General and Congregational Safeguarding Delegates.
How can those exercising leadership responsibilities approach the accompaniment of people who have perpetrated abuse? What criteria should guide efforts to protect communities, prevent further abuse and promote accountability?
These questions will be explored during the forthcoming formation webinar organised by the UISG–USG Safeguarding Commission, taking place on Monday 9 November 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. (Rome time).
The protection and care of victims and survivors, together with recognition of the harm they have suffered, must underpin every response to abuse. Within this framework, managing those who have perpetrated abuse also requires expertise, clarity and sustained commitment from Church authorities.
The webinar will explore criteria for a pastoral and practical response that brings together risk assessment and management, clear boundaries, compliance with prescribed measures, and pathways towards acknowledging responsibility, making reparation and changing behaviour. The focus will be on a firm, fair and humane approach that keeps protection, justice and prevention at its centre, without minimising the gravity of abuse.
The speaker, Irma Patricia Espinosa Hernández, is a physician, surgeon, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, with theological training and a specialisation in criminal psychology. For many years, she has devoted her work to research and to accompanying people who have sexually abused minors and vulnerable persons in Church settings. A member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors since 2022 and Academic Director of CEPROME Latinoamérica, she provides training and consultancy for Church bodies, dioceses and religious congregations.
Participation details
- Date and time: Monday 9 November 2026, 2:00–4:00 p.m. (Rome time)
- Format: Online
- Audience: Exclusively for Superiors General and Congregational Safeguarding Delegates
- Languages: Italian, English, French and Spanish