1.8 Safeguarding as part of sacramental life

As an sacramental Church, you value sacramental ministry deeply. That makes safeguarding even more essential, not less.

When people come for the sacraments, they come with trust. Safeguarding protects sacramental life by keeping ministry clean, accountable, and safe.

Two clarifications matter:

1. Sacraments are not tools of control.
   No minister may use sacramental access as leverage to silence, coerce, or punish someone who raises a safeguarding concern.
2. The Church is not a gatekeeper of grace, but it is a guardian of safety.
   Welcoming people to the sacraments does not mean tolerating unsafe behaviour. It means holding holiness and safety together: reverence, dignity, and disciplined boundaries.

This module is not about sacramental policy. It is about the moral foundation: safeguarding protects sacramental trust.