Remembering our future (SMR#245)

This issue includes a collection of essay reflecting the response of Australian churches to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
These essays offer constructive proposals for how Australian churches might respond to the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that were handed down earlier this year. There is a range of voices and perspectives here: from theologians and ethicists, both local and international; from a barrister who has worked extensively with the Anglican Church of Australia; from a clinical counsellor; and from an Anglican bishop. The focus here is on constructive, intentional, and targeted proposals that can move churches beyond what one article contributor describes as mere “words and handwringing, to church cultures that are robustly safe for every child encountering them.” The following articles deal predominantly with the Anglican Church of Australia, along with one article specifically relating to the Catholic Church in Australia.