Prof. Dr. Em. Karijn Demasure is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Canon Law and the Founding Director of the Centre for Safeguarding Minors and Vulnerable Persons at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. She has published extensively in peer review journals on the clergy abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, including a recent book on the experiences of women in this context (La vérité nous rendra libres. Paroles des femmes dans la crise des abus, 2022), making her an authority in the field. Her research interests extend to sexual violence in other contexts as well such as incest and diverse publications and presentations pertaining to sexual violence against minors and vulnerable adults.

With a current project focusing on trust and this research background, Prof. Demasure is ideally situated to speak to the dynamics of broken trust in the context of the clergy abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Prof. Demasure also places is a strong focus on translating her academic expertise into social impact through her work for the protection and safeguarding of minors and vulnerable adults.

In addition to her position at the Centre for Safeguarding Minors and Vulnerable Persons in Ottawa, Demasure has also worked as the Executive Director of the Center for Child Protection at the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome. She is a member of the Institute for Prevention and Reappraisal of Sexual Violence (Kuratorium Institut für Prävention und Aufarbeitung sexualisierter Gewalt) in Germany and serves on several committees for developing policy to safeguard minors and vulnerable persons, including the Standing Committee of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on Responsible Ministry and the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons, and the Safeguarding Committee at Istituzione Teresiana.

She also served as a Collaborator with the theological workgroup linked to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. She also serves as a member in study group seven on the selection criteria for bishops. The study groups are set up by Pope Francis in the context of the Bishop Synod on Synodality. Prof. Dr. Em. Demasure was made Officer in the Order of the Crown by the Belgian state in 2018 for her social and academic work.

Child Safeguarding

Prof. Demasure leads, for the CPCS, the International and Interdisciplinary project: Towards a Trustworthy Church.

Aims of the project:

• The knowledge generation on how to understand and break down the concept of trust
• A better understanding of the specific causes for the breach of trust and of key conditions that can help to become more trustworthy
• A theoretical and/or practical description of the domains (e.g. pastoral and spiritual care, education, theology, care facilities, liturgy, new religious communities, etc.) in which trust has been betrayed and how it can be restored
• A contribution to the development of tools and action-oriented learning material which help to share best practice and identify strategies for rebuilding trust (via conversation, restorative justice, etc.)

The overall purpose of the project is to contribute to the creation or restoration of a trustworthy Church in which people feel welcome and safe.

L'Eglise déchirée. Comprendre et traverser la crise des abus sexuels sur mineurs, JOULAIN, S., DEMASURE, K., NADEAU, J.-G., (eds), Bayard/Novalis, 2021.