The Archbishop of Canterbury says survivors of abuse are never the ones to blame.
In his blog, the Most Rev Justin Welby pledged that any allegation brought against the Church will be taken seriously and rigorously investigated.
"As a society we have to get to the point where we realise that abuse is above all an issue of power, the perversion of power not to do good but to do grievous harm, and to meet some terrible need within the abuser.
"It is never the fault of the person abused, the survivor.
"They will bear the damage; theirs will be often a sense of guilt which they have to work through with counselling and psychological support for years, sometimes for the rest of their lives.
"It affects them in all sorts of ways too terrible to describe.
"But it is not their fault."
Archbishop Justin has previously spoken of the need for the Church to become more transparent on the issue.
The Church has recently been accused by victim support groups of covering up abuse, not investigating properly and failing to support survivors.
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