The Archbishop of Canterbury has apologised for "shameful failures" to properly act on allegations of child sex abuse within the Church.

It comes in an open letter published today by Justin Welby, together with the the Archbishop of York, to coincide with the release of a report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

The report found that the Church of England spent decades protecting its own reputation rather than children and young people from sexual predators. The inquiry heard that 390 people from the 1940s to 2018 had been convicted of sexual offences against children.

The Church was accused of being in direct conflict” with its moral purpose of providing “care and love for the innocent and the vulnerable” by failing to take abuse allegations seriously, neglecting the “physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing” of the young, and creating a culture where abusers were able to “hide”.

Alleged perpetrators were said to have been “given more support than victims, who often faced barriers to reporting (abuse) they simply couldn’t overcome”.

Inquiry chairwoman Professor Alexis Jay said: “Over many decades, the Church of England failed to protect children and young people from sexual abusers, instead facilitating a culture where perpetrators could hide and victims faced barriers to disclosure that many could not overcome.”

It said the Church of England “struggled to develop a model for effective safeguarding within its organisational structure” although acknowledged that the Church had made “considerable improvements to practices and procedures” in recent years. However, further changes are needed to existing measures.

"We are truly sorry for the shameful way the Church has acted and we state our commitment to listen, to learn and to act in response to the report's findings..."

It also included introducing a Church-wide policy on the funding and provision of support to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse concerning clergy.

The IICSA was set up in 2015 following claims from a complainant known as “Nick” of a murderous paedophile ring linked to Parliament operating in and around Westminster.

Nick, real name Carl Beech, was later discredited and jailed for 18 years for what a judge called his “cruel and callous” lies.

The inquiry has investigated the actions of celebrities, politicians, police, religious groups and schools, among others.

The remaining three avenues of the inquiry are due to hear evidence later this year, before a final report of overarching findings from all 15 sections of the investigation is laid before Parliament in 2022.

The report adressed the Church's response to the investigation into several leading figures including Reverend Ian Hughes, from Merseyside, who was convicted in 2014 for downloading 8,000 indecent images of children and former Bishop of Lewis and Gloucester Peter Ball.

He was jailed for 32 months in 2015 for sex abuse against boys carried out over three decades and the Church faced criticism over its handling of the allegations against him.

The Archbishop's letter reads: "For survivors, this will remind them of the abuse they suffered and of our failure to respond well; it will be a very harrowing time for them.

"Some have shared courageously their story at the IICSA hearings or in other forums. For others this report will be a reminder of the abuse they have never talked openly about.

"We are truly sorry for the shameful way the Church has acted and we state our commitment to listen, to learn and to act in response to the report's findings.

"We cannot and will not make excuses and can again offer our sincere and heartfelt apologies to those who have been abused, and to their families, friends and colleagues."

It adds: "We, as the Church of England, are ready to support anyone who comes forward. We must honour our commitment to change.

"Survivors have told us that words without actions are meaningless; we are taking action but we are also aware that what we have done has neither been soon enough nor sufficient.

"We must listen carefully and reflect honestly on all that the report says and continue to drive change towards a safe Church for all.'

The letter also expressed the Church's desire to support any further victims who come forward following the report's publication.

In September, the Church of England set up a compensation fund, said to be around £200 million, to support victims of historic sex abuse by bishops, clergy and lay church workers

Responding to the publishing of the report, the Rt Rev James Langstaff, the Bishop of Rochester said:"Today, as the entire Church of England receives this report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, we first pay tribute to all the victims and survivors of church-context abuse whose brave testimony has allowed this report to come into being.

"Testimony which has been given at huge personal, emotional and spiritual cost. For this we must be both grateful for their courage, and ashamed of the abuse and re-abuse they have experienced.

"Myself and all within the Church must now take time to sit with this report, to listen to what it has to tell us, to learn, to repent and to act. This I will be encouraging across our parishes and among our senior leadership, as we pray for God to help us bring about the profound changes needed in the Church.”

The Venerable Julie Conalty, Archdeacon of Tonbridge and Bishop's Lead for Safeguarding in the Diocese of Rochester said: "We know that abuse in the Church is under-reported and we hope that awareness of this report may also encourage others to come forward and speak to us or other agencies.

"We will listen and support anyone who has been abused whenever it happened. We want to work with victims and survivors so we can continue to learn lessons and make our churches safe."

Anyone who is affected by the publication of the report, or who wants to talk to someone independently regarding a concern they have about something they have experienced in a church, now or in the past, can contact the Safe Spaces helpline, on 0300 303 1056 or email: safespaces@victimsupport.org.uk.

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