The Diocese of Plymouth is developing the first chaplaincy in the English and Welsh Catholic Church for survivors of sexual, spiritual, emotional and institutional abuse.
It will be a “pastoral ministry that seeks to offer faith-sensitive, independent and survivor-centred support,” explained the diocesan safeguarding team in their summer newsletter.
“This ministry recognises that survivors’ journeys are complex and that the Church has a responsibility to respond with humility, care and integrity,” said the team.
“This project is truly unique in the Catholic Church in England and Wales seeking to achieve meaningful change in the way the Church responds to and supports those who have suffered harm,” the letter continued.
Martin Christmas-Nelson, head of safeguarding for the diocese, told The Tablet the concept of the chaplaincy “was born out of the collective thoughts of survivors living in the Diocese of Plymouth.”
“The diocese prioritised a dedicated victim/survivor support worker in the early 2020s, which allowed for the creation of online and in-person facilitated survivor forums. From these forums grew a shared sense of sense of purpose to create something meaningful and tangible, taking accountability to support other survivors who were still in silence,” he added.
“The survivor caseworker collated these ideas, and from the genesis of the survivors’ thoughts we created the idea of Chaplaincy for Survivors. It very much grew organically from the ground up, and the Diocesan safeguarding team are stewards, rather than governors of the project.”
Christmas-Nelson identified “accompaniment and chaplaincy style projects in Ireland” as the “inspiration” for the Plymouth project. He consulted the creators of the Irish projects throughout the process for Plymouth.
“We intend for Plymouth Diocese to be a beacon of hope for those who want to see the church provide more space for survivors to use their voices proudly, openly and without shame”, he added.
Christmas-Nelson said he had been involved “in creating a survivor steering group, who act more as trustees of the project, leading the way on its function and development, and holding me to account to deliver upon their collective vision.”
A member of the survivor steering group said: “It’s my hope that the chaplaincy for survivors can not only offer support and a safe way for survivors to address their faith in relation to abuse, but also that the chaplaincy can help people to recognise that, where there is support, there is awareness, and that future abuse may be avoided as potential perpetrators recognise that this isn’t going to happen in the shadows anymore, that people can and will speak up.”
They added that the chaplaincy represented “an opportunity for accountability and acknowledgement from the Church and shows a commitment to taking abuse seriously now and in the future, that can inspire others to use their voice if they wish.”
“It represents mutual support, peer support and shared lessening of shame that unites people”, continued the survivor, who added: “It is an opportunity to make meaningful change and empowers survivors to do this themselves and be taken seriously, with the diocese able to amplify that message with a dedicated chaplaincy. It gives a space to sit in faith and make sense of trauma and help support our relationship with God.”
On Saturday, 26 September, the diocesan safeguarding office is hosting a free training day titled ‘Understanding Abuse.”
It said this would provide a “grounded and accessible introduction to what abuse is including, spiritual, emotional, sexual and institutional abuse” as well as “the impact of abuse on individuals, faith and relationships.”
Other topics will include “trauma-informed approaches to listening and pastoral accompaniment” and “the difference between pastoral presence and professional intervention” and “boundaries, safeguarding the limits of a chaplaincy role.”
The training is offered to lay people and clergy, those already involved in pastoral ministry or safeguarding and “anyone interested in learning more about abuse and trauma-informed pastoral care.”
The letter adds that survivors are “welcome to attend if they feel comfortable to do so, with the understanding that the day is educational rather than a space for personal disclosure or testimony.”
The day is free and will be held from 10am – 4pm at St Boniface House, Ashburton, Newton Abbot. “Those attending the training day will be invited (but not required) to register an expression of interest in volunteering for the Chaplaincy for Survivors project,” said the diocesan team in the newsletter.
Christmas-Nelson told The Tablet there were plans for further training days for those wishing to become chaplains. It is hoped that a “functional service” will be launched by the middle of 2027.
“The steering group has helped develop a role profile, identify training needs and providers, create risk registers, process flows and is on the cusp of delivering training, since our first development meeting a year ago in September 2025”, he told The Tablet.
Christmas-Nelson told The Tablet that the chaplaincy would be jointly led by lay Catholics and clergy “providing the opportunity for survivors to speak to a person of their choosing, in a way that suits them, be they lay or clergy, to help work through the challenges they face as a person of faith who has experienced trauma”.
He added that the chaplaincy would be available “to those who has suffered abuse both inside and outside of the church setting, and both clergy and lay people will be able to use the service too.”
Plymouth Diocese already recently piloted a Parish Safeguarding Representative Buddy Network, a six-month scheme to enable new and existing Parish Safeguarding Representatives from different deaneries to “connect, create objectives and identify areas in which they can help one another.”