Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry in France as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

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The prelate succeeds U.S.-born Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the founding president of the safeguarding commission established by Pope Francis in 2014.  

“I thank the Holy Father for my appointment as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors,” Verny said in a statement released July 5. 

“I am honored by the trust he has placed in me, fully aware of the grave and sacred task entrusted to the commission: to help the Church become ever more vigilant, accountable, and compassionate in her mission to protect the most vulnerable among us.”

The new president praised his predecessor, saying O’Malley has been “a moral compass” for the faithful and for people of goodwill: “His legacy is one of courageous fidelity to the Gospel and to the dignity of every human person.”

Under O’Malley’s leadership, the Vatican released its first report on the Church’s safeguarding efforts worldwide in October 2024. 

Verny was made a member of the pontifical commission by Pope Francis in 2022 and has since been active in the Vatican’s international safeguarding efforts in different countries, including the Central African Republic and the Ivory Coast.

In his first statement as president of the pontifical commission, the French archbishop said the Church cannot “impose” safeguarding models nor “avoid hard conversations” about taboo topics in local traditions.

“Our work must begin by listening — with humility, with respect, and with cultural intelligence,” the archbishop said on Saturday.

Since 2022, Verny has also chaired the French Bishops’ Conference’s council for preventing and combating child abuse while being a member of the Vatican commission.

Between 2016 and 2023, he served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Paris, where he was tasked with upholding the agreement between the archdiocese and local authorities to facilitate the reporting of abuse allegations to the civil courts.

In 2023, Verny was appointed archbishop of Chambéry in southeast France.

This article was originally published by CNA.