Statement from the Conference of Religious of England and Wales on the publication of the final report by the Panel of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse:

The Conference of Religious of England and Wales (CoR) would like to thank IICSA for bringing to light the acute suffering that has been inflicted over many years, and for giving victims and survivors the chance to recount their experience and to share the impact that abuse has had on their lives. We are wholeheartedly committed to learning lessons from this Inquiry and making every effort to ensure that such abuse can never happen again.  

We would like to express profound sadness and sorrow to all individuals who have been the victims and survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy, men and women in Religious congregations and those in positions of responsibility within Roman Catholic institutions.  

We are hopeful of the new structure that is now in place – the Religious Life Safeguarding Service – which has been created to replace the previous alignment arrangements with dioceses.  The RLSS is an independent team of safeguarding professionals, offering safeguarding services to the Religious of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.  

For the last twelve months, we have nominated a ‘Religious Safeguarding Lead’ – in response to IICSA’s recommendation for there to be a lead Bishop and a lead Religious for safeguarding within the Catholic Church. 

As Christians we approach safeguarding with a determination to protect people from harm - especially when they are particularly vulnerable. We acknowledge that in the past the needs of the vulnerable have not been paramount and we wholeheartedly embrace the renewed  approach to safeguarding within the Church – and continue to pray for all those who have suffered.