The forum on Faith and the Family: Propagating and Preventing Child-Family Separation across Time and Context is convened by Catholic Relief Services and Georgetown University’s Collaborative on Global Children’s Issues, in coordination with the Changing the Way We Care initiative and strategic partners.

With a particular focus on the Roman Catholic faith, forum participants are invited to consider the extent to which religious belief systems and practices have justified or opposed the separation of children from families in a variety of historical and regional contexts: American slavery, Indigenous communities, the development and use of children’s residential care worldwide, and in migration policy and response. Participants are also encouraged to consider the role of the Catholic Church in supporting vulnerable children and families and in preventing unnecessary child-family separation.