Survivor care is a ‘postcode lottery’ in Church in England, says report

The quality of engagement with abuse survivors varies significantly across the Catholic Church in England and Wales, a major new report said Monday.

A 116-page report by the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency, issued July 6, concluded that a robust, survivor-centered approach to safeguarding was “exceptional rather than assured” among dioceses and religious life groups in England and Wales.

The report from the CSSA — which describes itself as an independent inspectorate — suggested that while initial complaints were generally handled well, dioceses and religious orders sometimes failed to sustain engagement with survivors, leaving them with a sense of abandonment.

The document also said that, despite considerable progress, the unified “One Church” approach to abuse advocated in the 2001 Nolan Report on safeguarding in the Church in England and Wales remained unrealized 25 years later.

“While national safeguarding standards set out expectations for safeguarding practice, there is currently no single nationally mandated safeguarding policy or comprehensive national policy framework in place across the Catholic Church in England and Wales,” the CSSA report noted.

The CSSA’s Survivor Panel, which gives a collective voice to abuse victims, said the new report “paints a picture of the Catholic Church in England and Wales lamentably failing to adequately care