PROMOTE COOPERATION AND SOLIDARITY
BETWEEN THE MONASTERIES

Two recent trips to Kenya and India allow me to highlight monastic life and the education of young people.
Many monastic communities devote a great deal of energy to education and teaching, particularly in India and Africa. In a way, they embody Saint Benedict's intuition of comparing the monastery to a school of the Lord, but they also apply Christ's interest in using the figure of the child as an example of the Kingdom of God.
We can therefore achieve great things, but we must also ensure that our schools are sanctuaries where young people are safe, because the danger of abuse can come from outside as well as from within.
The Christian communities of the Western world have been guilty of a lack of attention to abuse, abusers and their unfortunate victims. The important thing is for young Christian communities to concern themselves with safeguarding and to ensure that Benedictine schools, but also all our places of welcome, are at the forefront in this fight against abuse.
Dom Bernard Lorent Tayart, o.s.b.