This site is here to offer a central point of contact and information regarding the protection of children and vulnerable adults within the environment of the Catholic church of England and Wales.

Many documents are available for downloading and reading by any member of the public. 

Please note that some of these documents are only available in pdf format therefore you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the documents.  This can be downloaded at no cost by following the link provided  http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html     

A comprehensive "Frequently Asked Questions" section is also provided.
Should your query not be answered here, please feel free to contact the COPCA office!

COPCA was established by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales in November 2001, when the Conference accepted Lord Nolan's "Programme for Action", an independent review of Child Protection in the Catholic Church in England & Wales.

His Eminence, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, originally commissioned the Review Committee following the concerns raised by the case of Michael Hill in 2000.

The Reports recommendations were also accepted in full by the Conference of Religious in January 2002, and it is vital to the implementation of the Programme for Action that the Dioceses and Religious have a consistent and comprehensive approach to protection matters.