Royal Commission Hearing Closing Remarks

President Stuart McMillan issues a statement to a public hearing of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Sydney today.

On behalf of the Uniting Church in Australia, I sincerely apologise to all children in our care who suffered sexual abuse, of any kind, in our Church, whether it happened since union of 1977 or before that in our predecessor Churches.

We are, and I am, deeply sorry that we didn’t protect and care in accordance with our Christian values for those children.

I want to acknowledge the impact that it’s had in the lives of those young people and to say I am truly sorry.

Our commitment to you is that we will seek to make amends and to ensure that others don’t suffer in the same way you have.

As church leaders, we pledge that we will continue to understand and to implement the lessons that we’ve learnt through this Royal Commission and remain open to the insights of survivors and professionals.

We pledge to continuously seek improvement; to regularly renew our policies and our practices in all parts of our Church, and to ensure that they reflect the best quality for care, service and support of children.

We pledge to ensure that these priorities are integrated into our organisational culture and practises.

This is our commitment to you.