Perpetual Day of Remembrance and Safeguarding Sunday invites us each September to stop and reflect. It calls us to face the truth with honesty and compassion, and to remember the lives forever changed by abuse within our Church. 

This day exists because children were not protected and because trust was broken. The wounds carried by survivors are not confined to the past. They remain part of daily life, affecting individuals, families and communities in ways that can last a lifetime. 

On this Perpetual Day of Remembrance, we acknowledge the deep suffering endured by survivors of abuse, the grief carried by their families and the lives lost to despair or the lasting impact of trauma. We speak these truths not to reopen pain, but because healing cannot grow where truth is hidden. 

Perpetual Day of Remembrance and Safeguarding Sunday calls us to stand together: survivors, families, clergy, laypeople and communities, in a shared act of remembrance and responsibility. Across the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, people gather in prayer and reflection; some light candles, others sit in silence or speak aloud the names of those who were harmed. Each person remembers in their own way. 

Each act of remembrance becomes part of a shared promise: that we will not forget, that we will not look away, that we will do all we can to ensure these failures are never repeated. 

Remembering means honouring survivors with humility and respect, acknowledging the Church’s failures without defensiveness or denial, and committing ourselves to a future shaped by safety, transparency and justice. 

Safeguarding is not a policy or a program; it is a culture, a daily practice, a way of being Church that protects the vulnerable and upholds the dignity of every person. It asks us to listen deeply to survivors, to believe them and to allow their voices to guide our steps forward. Trust cannot be expected simply because it is asked for. It is earned through consistent action and genuine accountability. 

Throughout September, communities across the Diocese mark this occasion in different ways: through liturgies, artworks, conversations, school reflections and moments of communal silence. Each act of remembrance strengthens our shared commitment to truth, healing and safeguarding. 

On Perpetual Day of Remembrance and Safeguarding Sunday, we renew our commitment to truth, accountability and the safety of every person in our care.

We remember those who have been harmed, we listen to survivors and we recommit ourselves to building a Church where safeguarding is lived every day. 

May this Perpetual Day of Remembrance strengthen our resolve to build a Church that listens, learns and protects, always and without exception. 

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