Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies has published a report by its Boundary Breaking Project on the “Attitudes of Catholics in England and Wales to Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church”. The data comes from a survey that was conducted not long after the pandemic in June/July 2022. 3,000 adults identifying as Catholic were polled (regular Mass-goers in this report are categorised as those that attend Mass at least once a month).
Bishop Paul Mason, Lead Bishop for Safeguarding, said:
“As with the previous report from the Boundary Breaking Project, The Cross of the Moment, we as Bishops will never pass up an opportunity to learn from research that offers insights that can improve our safeguarding work – work that is continually under review and open to improvement.
“I would like to assure Catholics, and indeed anyone who has concerns, that safeguarding is integral to a bishop’s work and ministry and that we will not rest in our efforts to make the Church a place of safety and sanctuary for all.
“We are fully committed to this work and once again apologise without reservation for the failings of the past. We will always listen attentively to the voices of those who have suffered abused and reiterate the open invitation from the bishops to meet with and listen to victims and survivors.”
