(OSV News) ─ The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors announced that Teresa Kettelkamp, who has served as its adjunct secretary since 2024 and cooperated with the commission for over a decade, is stepping down from her role.
In a statement released March 27, the commission said Kettelkamp would be stepping down "due to family reasons," effective April 1.
French Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry, the commission's president, said he was grateful to Kettelkamp for "bringing her experience in law enforcement and safeguarding to the service of the global Church."
Her "wisdom, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to victim/survivors have left a lasting mark on the work of the Commission," he said.
Kettelkamp, a former colonel in the Illinois State Police and former director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection, began working for the commission in 2015 and moved to Rome the following year to assist the pontifical commission in developing safeguarding guidelines.
She was named to the commission by Pope Francis in 2018, and in 2024, she was appointed as its adjunct secretary.
The commission also released a statement from Kettelkemp, who expressed her gratitude "for the privilege of serving the Church in this important mission."
"For more than a decade, I have been honored to contribute to the Commission's vital work, a mission in which I wholeheartedly believe," she said. "My commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable persons is rooted in a conviction shared by all Christians: that every human being possesses inherent dignity, created in the image and likeness of God."
Kettelkamp explained that throughout her time, her "guiding priorities have remained constant: God, family, and work."
"My granddaughter was born prematurely in April 2025 and underwent emergency heart surgery. She continues to face persistent challenges and after thoughtful discernment, I have chosen to be fully present for her and my daughter during this time," she said.
Kettelkamp expressed her hope that the Catholic Church would continue "steadfastly in the sacred duty of protecting children and vulnerable adults."
"Safeguarding is not merely an institutional obligation but a moral responsibility incumbent upon every person of goodwill," she said.
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Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.
