LONDON (UNITED KINGDOM)
Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) [London, England]
July 6, 2026
The Survivor Thematic report by the CSSA paints a picture of the Catholic Church in England and Wales lamentably failing to adequately care for people abused within it.
We see a postcode lottery, where the inspection has found good practice to be the exception when it comes to caring for survivors. That is a stark message to absorb. The heartbreaking reality it points to is of a Church seemingly without the will, wisdom, or heart to care consistently for those it has harmed.
One of the realities Church leadership must confront is that people are still being harmed, and too often harmed again if they seek engagement with the Church.
The findings of the report show too little evidence that, as a group, they take seriously enough their responsibility – the responsibility to engage in coherent, meaningful, consistent, and appropriate ways with victims and survivors of abuse within the Church.
Six years after IICSA called on the Church in England and Wales to listen to survivors of Church abuse, it does not, as yet, appear to be on a clear pathway even to establish appropriate fora for meaningful dialogue.
The report draws attention to the lack of a structured national mechanism for survivor representation. We note Pope Leo’s facilitation and support for direct dialogue between victim/survivors of Church abuse and those leading in the Church on safeguarding.
Survivor Panel Call for Action
The Bishops of England and Wales must ensure there is a fair, consistent and ‘One Church’ approach to any engagement with survivors, so that the postcode lottery becomes a thing of the past.
We invite the Bishops Conference of England and Wales to commit to facilitate a forum for direct, in-person, dialogue between the bishops and victim/survivors of abuse experienced in the Church.
We invite them to commit to ongoing, facilitated, formal dialogue with Church abuse victim/survivors, and to have started that dialogue within 12 months from publication of this report.
We also call on the bishops to establish, within twelve months, access to the consistent services of dedicated, trauma-sensitive diocesan support staff, for any person who has experienced abuse within the Catholic Church.
The Inspectorate (CSSA) was clearly seeking evidence of genuine care for survivors. It is depressing how little, consistent, care it has found. The poverty of this response to those harmed is the result of choices by Church leaders. It seems their choice has too often been not to engage, not to adequately fund safeguarding resources, seemingly not to care. There is not enough meaningful listening to survivors of Church abuse; there is not enough evidence of learning being shared and put into practice.
One panel member said: “It is incredible and concerning to read that ‘good practice is exceptional rather than assured’; that there is ‘no consistent evidence of a single comprehensive survivor-centred resource…of essential information’ about processes, expectations, or support. There is also an absence of a ‘single consistent national policy’. A survivor panel member commented that, reading the report, “it seemed like safeguarding co-ordinators are left to their own devices with no nationally agreed frameworks”.
The panel member continued “There is still no ‘One Church’ approach, leaving victims and survivors open to being re-traumatised by engaging with a Church that is still not safe. The Church’s commitment to changing and improving is yet again called into question, especially when the report states that the challenges it has identified are ‘structural, rather than individual, relate to resourcing, capacity and system design’. It is as though the Church does not have the will to take seriously its responsibilities and is content to perpetuate a postcode lottery which is unfair and extremely harmful.’
For some survivors the report’s findings will be depressing and upsetting – particularly when read against the assertions repeated again and again from Church leaders about how much ‘safeguarding is a ‘priority’. The ‘prayers for survivors’, if they happen, appear sadly hollow when compared with the reality, painted in this thematic report, of the frequently poor and inconsistent engagement survivors meet on the ground.
Our hearts go out to those whose attempted engagement with the Church, after reporting abuse, is causing them further distress. Some of us on the Survivor Panel have met with exactly that kind of experience.
Panel members would like to acknowledge the continuing work of dedicated individuals employed in Catholic safeguarding. Our concern, deep frustration and deep disappointment, lies not with them, but with those in the Church hierarchy failing to provide either “One Church’ pastoral leadership on safeguarding, or adequate resources on the ground. The report shows us a Church where too often survivors of Church abuse are an afterthought, not partners. We read that as a compelling call for change.
CSSA Survivor Panel
July 2026
Notes:
Content warning: The report contains accounts of abuse and its impact on survivors. It includes discussion of disclosures of abuse, safeguarding concerns, and the ways in which Church bodies have responded to those affected. We recognise that reading this material may be distressing, particularly for survivors and those supporting them.
Readers are encouraged to engage with the report in a way that feels safe for them and to seek support if needed.
Free, independent, confidential support for adults affected by church related
abuse is available from Safe Spaces England and Wales at
- www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk and 0300 303 1056.
To access the CSSA report:
- Survivors’ Experience of the Catholic Church – You can read the CSSA’s Summary Report HERE.
- You can read the CSSA’s full report HERE