Anglican Province of Mexico hosts first Spanish Safe Church regional conference

[Anglican Commuion News Service] The Anglican Church of Mexico (La Iglesia Anglicana de México) and the Anglican Church of the Central American Region (Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America) have hosted the first-ever Spanish-speaking regional conference of the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission.

The meeting, held in Mexico City and hosted locally by Mexico Bishop Alba Sally Sue Hernández García, brought together around 30 participants from across Latin America, including representatives from Brazil, Bolivia, El Salvador and other provinces, including The Episcopal Church, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

The gathering marks a significant step in ensuring that safeguarding training and collaboration are accessible in local languages and rooted in regional contexts. Previous regional conferences and Safe Church sessions have been held in English with Portuguese or French translation, most recently in Bulawayo in 2024, but this is the first time the program has been delivered fully in Spanish.

According to the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission, the regional meetings aim to build the capacity of local clergy and lay leaders in safe church policy and practice. By equipping participants to develop and implement safeguarding procedures, the conferences strengthen efforts to make churches across the communion safe places for all people, especially children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Those leading the sessions included the Rev. P. Efrén Velázquez Gutiérrez from Mexico, Marcel Cesar Pereira from Brazil, Robin Hammael-Urban from The Episcopal Church, and Daphne Audsley from Scotland, facilitated by Kim Barker of South Africa.

The conference was requested and organized by the Anglican Church of Mexico, in partnership with the Safe Church Commission and the Anglican Alliance.

Velázquez Gutiérrez said: “The Safe Church Conference has been a very important event for the Mexico and Central America region, as it has provided us with key resources to implement safety measures in our communities.

“We thank the Safe Church Commission of the Anglican Communion for this important work in our region, and we hope to continue contributing to actions that will allow us to prevent any kind of abuse in our churches.”

Mandy Marshall, director for Safe Church at the Anglican Communion, said of the event, “It is so encouraging to see the Province of Mexico hosting a regional Safe Church Conference in their own language. I hope the conference equips and encourages clergy and laity to develop safeguarding policies and implement them so that people who come to Anglican churches are kept safe from harm.”

Established by the Anglican Consultative Council in 2016, the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission promotes the safety of all people within churches across the communion. It supports provinces in developing and strengthening safeguarding policies, providing training, and fostering collaboration across regional and linguistic contexts.