Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care

The Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care, commonly known as IADC, is an academic institute of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Its work combines anthropology, psychology, theology, spirituality, canon law, social science, and professional safeguarding practice. The institute focuses on the protection of vulnerable people, prevention of abuse, formation of safeguarding personnel, and the study of human dignity in institutional and social contexts. The IADC developed from the Centre for Child Protection, a project established through cooperation between the Pontifical Gregorian University's Institute of Psychology, the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University of Ulm. The centre was conceived in 2011 against the background of public reports of clerical sexual abuse in Germany and the German government's Round Table on Child Sexual Abuse. It began operating in Munich in January 2012, initially as a three-year pilot project. The project was intended not simply as a response to individual cases, but as a long-term educational and institutional effort to improve safeguarding knowledge and practice. During its Centre for Child Protection phase, the organization developed conferences, publications, international partnerships, and a multilingual online education program for pastoral professionals. In 2014, the decision was made to move its headquarters to Rome. The centre remained associated with the Pontifical Gregorian University and expanded its international orientation through partnerships and training activity in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and North America. The institute began its activities under its current identity on September 1, 2021, assuming the responsibilities and academic activities of the Centre for Child Protection while broadening its scope beyond child-protection training alone. Its educational portfolio includes multilingual blended-learning courses, a diploma in safeguarding, an interdisciplinary licentiate in safeguarding, and a doctorate in anthropology focused on human dignity and care for vulnerable people. Its students and professional participants may include pastoral workers, church leaders, safeguarding officers, social workers, teachers, university students, and personnel of dioceses, religious congregations, seminaries, and educational institutions. The IADC's safeguarding programs are offered in multiple languages and are designed for different levels of professional and academic expertise. The diploma prepares practitioners and future trainers to serve as safeguarding officers, advisers, and collaborators. The two-year licentiate combines theory and applied practice, preparing graduates to lead safeguarding teams and develop measures adapted to particular cultural and institutional settings. The doctoral program places the institute's safeguarding mission within a wider anthropological study of the person, human dignity, and care. Research, publications, conferences, and collaboration with an international academic network are central to the institute's identity. Its associated work has addressed the prevention of sexual abuse of minors, the experience of victims, the development of e-learning, and the implications of safeguarding for the Catholic Church and society. The institute also collaborates with doctoral researchers working across several disciplines. In this sense, it operates as both a university institute and a professional formation center, connecting academic inquiry with institutional reform and practical protection of vulnerable people.

The institute's institutional history begins with the creation of the Centre for Child Protection, although the current IADC identity dates from 2021. The idea for the centre emerged in 2011 when Hans Zollner of the Pontifical Gregorian University's Institute of Psychology and Jörg M. Fegert of the University of Ulm met in the context of Germany's national discussion of clerical sexual abuse and child protection. The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising subsequently supported the project. It was designed as a sustained educational initiative rather than a short-term intervention, with an initial three-year pilot phase planned from January 2012 through December 2014. The Centre for Child Protection began work in Munich in January 2012. Its opening symposium, Towards Healing and Renewal, brought together church representatives, survivors, clinicians, lawyers, and other specialists to discuss sexual abuse of minors and institutional responses. Further conferences in Freising in 2012 and Munich in 2013 examined victim experiences, communication, empowerment, institutional learning, and future safeguards. During this period, the centre also developed a multilingual online education program intended to help pastoral professionals prevent and respond to abuse. In 2014, the centre's headquarters moved to Rome, reinforcing its relationship with the Pontifical Gregorian University and its international reach. Its work expanded through partnerships and training activity across several continents. Annual Anglophone safeguarding conferences were hosted or co-organized from 2015 to 2018. In 2017, the centre hosted a congress on child dignity in the digital world. The event included an address by Pope Francis and produced a declaration calling for stronger protection of minors' privacy, dignity, and rights in digital environments. On September 1, 2021, the organization began activities as the Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care. The change retained the predecessor's safeguarding responsibilities while placing them within a broader academic framework. The institute now combines research, doctoral work, university degrees, professional training, publications, and international academic cooperation. Its subject areas include anthropology, psychology, theology, spirituality, canon law, and social sciences. The resulting institution serves both academic learners and practitioners who work in churches, religious communities, schools, social services, and other settings responsible for vulnerable people.

• 2021

  IADC begins operations

  [1]Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Careen.wikipedia.org

  The Institute of Anthropology began activities on September 1, assuming the predecessor centre's responsibilities and broadening its academic scope.

• 2017

  Congress on child dignity in the digital world

  [1]Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Careen.wikipedia.org

  The centre hosted an international congress that examined the privacy, dignity, and rights of minors in digital environments.

• 2014

  Headquarters relocated to Rome

  [1]Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Careen.wikipedia.org

  The Centre for Child Protection moved its headquarters to Rome while remaining part of the Pontifical Gregorian University.

• 2012

  Centre for Child Protection launches in Munich

  [1]Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Careen.wikipedia.org

  The predecessor organization began a planned three-year pilot phase with support from the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, and the University of Ulm.

• 2012

  Towards Healing and Renewal symposium

  [1]Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Careen.wikipedia.org

  The opening symposium at the Gregorian University addressed the sexual abuse of minors and brought together church personnel, survivors, therapists, lawyers, and other specialists.

• 2011

  Safeguarding center concept developed

  [1]Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Careen.wikipedia.org

  Hans Zollner and Jörg M. Fegert developed the concept that became the Centre for Child Protection in the context of Germany's national response to reports of clerical sexual abuse.

An interdisciplinary Catholic university institute linking anthropology and higher education with safeguarding research, professional training, and the protection of vulnerable people.

• Professional education

  Multilingual blended-learning safeguarding program

  A multilingual and multicultural online and blended-learning program for pastoral professionals, church leaders, social workers, teachers, university students, and others involved in safeguarding. The program was developed in English, Italian, German, French, and Spanish and supports different levels of academic and professional expertise.

• Higher education

  Diploma in Safeguarding

  A diploma course offered in English and Spanish for people working as safeguarding officers, advisers, and collaborators in dioceses, religious congregations, schools, and other professional environments. It also prepares future trainers who can support safeguarding formation in seminaries and educational institutions.

• Higher education

  Licentiate in Safeguarding

  A two-year interdisciplinary degree combining conceptual study and practical preparation. Graduates are trained to manage safeguarding teams, address safeguarding situations, and design measures that respond to the cultural and institutional context in which they work.

• Higher education

  Doctorate in Anthropology

  A doctoral program developing specialists in anthropology, with particular attention to human dignity and the care and protection of vulnerable people. The program connects the institute's safeguarding mission with wider interdisciplinary research.

• 2017Child Dignity in the Digital World

  International

  An international congress explored the protection of children's dignity, privacy, and rights in digital environments.

  Outcome. The congress produced a declaration urging stronger action by world leaders to protect minors online.

  Source
• 2013Learning from the Past: Implications for the Future

  Germany

  The Munich conference considered institutional lessons from abuse cases and their implications for future safeguarding practice in the Catholic Church.

  Outcome. It supported the centre's effort to connect historical reflection with preventive education.

  Source
• 2012Towards Healing and Renewal

  International · Italy

  The opening symposium of the Centre for Child Protection brought together approximately 220 participants to address the sexual abuse of minors, institutional responsibility, victim support, and pathways toward healing and renewal.

  Outcome. It established the centre's public profile as an education and dialogue platform focused on safeguarding.

  Source
• 2012Communication and Empowerment: Victims of Child Sexual Abuse

  Germany

  A Freising conference examined the experiences of victims of child sexual abuse and the importance of communication and empowerment in safeguarding responses.

  Outcome. The event contributed to awareness-building during the centre's pilot phase.

  Source

• 2021

  Transition from the Centre for Child Protection to IADCStrategy

  Background

  The predecessor centre had developed safeguarding education, research, conferences, and international partnerships.

  Action taken

  The organization adopted the Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Care identity and began activities on September 1.

  Aftermath

  Safeguarding responsibilities were retained while the academic remit expanded to anthropology, human dignity, and care for vulnerable people.

  Source

• 2014

  Relocation of headquarters to RomeStrategy

  Background

  The Centre for Child Protection had begun as a Munich-based pilot project supported by German partners and the Pontifical Gregorian University.

  Action taken

  The organization moved its headquarters to Rome while continuing its institutional relationship with the Gregorian University.

  Aftermath

  The relocation supported a more international operating model and preceded the later transition to the Institute of Anthropology.

  Source

1. 1Institute of Anthropology: Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity and Careen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Institute of Anthropology official websitechildprotection.unigre.it