Not for shameful gain: a Petrine theology of safeguarding

Abstract

Safeguarding often appears to be practice in search of theology. Much of the theological work on safeguarding grounds good practice purely in theological anthropology. 1 Peter, while clearly not about safeguarding, offers a serious reflection on power and motivation for ministry, set within an ecclesiology which is both eschatological and publicly engaged. Good practice in safeguarding should also be an expression of ecclesiology: an activity of the Church which is to be a priestly presence in the world, demonstrating publicly observable goodness.