The starting point
Every person is made in the image and likeness of God. That truth, taught from the first pages of Genesis, sits beneath everything the Catholic Church does. It is also the reason safeguarding matters. When you protect a child, an adult at risk, or anyone who is vulnerable, you are protecting something that belongs to God before it belongs to us.
Safeguarding in the Diocese of Shrewsbury is not a tick box or a policy folder. It is a commitment running through every parish, every school, every Mass, every meeting in a church hall. Welcome and protection sit together. You cannot have one without the other.
Why the Catholic Church takes this seriously
The Church in England and Wales has a difficult history on this. Past failures, named clearly by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and the Elliott Review, are part of the reason today's safeguarding work exists in the form it does. The diocese does not pretend the past did not happen. It works with that history in mind, and with a determination that the present and the future will be different.
Pope Francis has called the protection of minors and vulnerable adults a matter of fundamental Christian witness. The diocese takes that at face value. Anyone serving in a parish, paid or volunteer, has a part to play in this witness.
The eight National Safeguarding Standards
The Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) sets the framework all dioceses in England and Wales now follow. These are the 8 National Safeguarding Standards. The Diocese of Shrewsbury has adopted them and reports against them every year.
- Embedding safeguarding in the life of the Church
- Leadership and management
- Safer recruitment and ongoing suitability
- Training and support
- Responding to safeguarding concerns
- Caring for those affected by abuse
- Working with offenders and people who pose a risk
- Quality assurance
These are not abstract. Each one shapes how the diocese hires, trains, supervises and responds. The Annual Safeguarding Report sets out where Shrewsbury is against each standard.
Who is responsible
Everyone. That is not a slogan. Clergy, paid staff, Parish Safeguarding Representatives, volunteers, parents, anyone with eyes and ears in a Catholic community. Most safeguarding situations begin with someone noticing something and being willing to act.
The Diocesan Safeguarding Office at the Curial Offices in Prenton runs the formal side. Andrew O'Brien is the Diocesan Safeguarding Coordinator and the team works alongside parishes, local authorities, the police and the CSSA. If you need to report a concern, the office is the route.
What this looks like in a parish
It looks like a Parish Safeguarding Representative who knows the families. It looks like volunteers with the right DBS check before they take on a role. It looks like a parish hall that is set up so children's activities are visible, accessible and properly supervised. It looks like a priest who has done his safeguarding training and refreshes it. It looks like clear signs telling people where to turn if something is wrong.
None of this is glamorous. All of it is what makes a parish safe.
One Church approach
The CSSA standards are sometimes called the One Church approach. The idea is simple: a child or adult at risk in any Catholic setting in England and Wales should be protected to the same standard. A parish in Wirral, a school in Stockport, a religious community in Chester, all working from the same framework. The diocese is part of that, contributing to national practice and learning from it.
Want to do more?
If you want to take a more active part in safeguarding in your parish, speak to your parish priest or contact the Diocesan Safeguarding Office. There is always a need for Parish Safeguarding Representatives, and there is always room for clergy and volunteers willing to keep their training current.
