The Anglican Church in New Zealand says it takes full responsibility for failures to provide a safe environment for people in its care after an inquiry found around 200,000 people had been abused in religious and state care.
The six year public inquiry gathered nearly 3000 testimonies and primarily covered the period from 1950 to 1999. However, those who had suffered abuse after 1999 also gave evidence.
It found that nearly one in three children and vulnerable adults in care from 1950 to 2019 experienced some form of abuse
and concluded that state agencies and churches failed to prevent, stop or admit the abuse of those they were supposed to be looking after - even when they knew about it.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has apologised and promised reforms, but the government could now be facing billions of dollars in fresh compensation claims. He told a news conference: "This is a dark and sorrowful day in New Zealand's history as a society and as a state, we should have done better, and I am determined that we will do so."
An official apology will follow on Nov 12, he added.
The report by Royal Commission of Inquiry detailed a litany of abuses in state and faith-based care, including rape, sterilisation and electric shocks, which peaked in the 1970s.
Those from the Indigenous Maori community were especially vulnerable to abuse, the report found, as well as those with mental or physical disabilities.
Civil and faith leaders fought to cover up abuse by moving abusers to other locations and denying culpability, with many victims dying before seeing justice, the report added.
"It is a national disgrace that hundreds of thousands of children, young people and adults were abused and neglected in the care of the State and faith-based institutions," the report said.
It made 138 recommendations, including calling for public apologies from New Zealand's government, as well as the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In its statement, the Anglican Church in New Zealand said: "We acknowledge and take full responsibility for our failures to provide the safe, caring and nurturing environment those who have been in our care had a right to expect and to receive".
The Catholic Church in New Zealand also issued a statement saying it was carefully reviewing the report:
"We will ensure that action follows our review of the inquiry’s findings," adding it had previously acknowledged the abuse occurred.
The report has also called for the government to set up a Care Safe Agency responsible for overseeing the industry, as well new legislation including mandatory reporting of suspected abuse, including admissions made during religious confession.
Some additional reporting by Reuters