The Church of England has issued an apology for it’s role in mother and baby homes and adoption practices during the postwar decades
Read the apology, that has been issued today (18/06/2026) by the Church of England.
Since late 2024, the Church of England has been carrying out detailed work to understand its historical involvement in mother‑and‑baby homes and adoption practices.
This has included gathering and reviewing material from central archives and other Church bodies in order to understand the policies and practices of homes, recognising that information is often dispersed across different parts of the Church’s life.
Alongside this archive research, we have been listening to people with personal experience of adoption or mother‑and‑baby homes, as well as engaging with dioceses and specialist organisations to build a clearer picture of past practices and to identify what support or guidance may be helpful for people who are affected.
Today's apology comes at the publication of this work.
We pray for all those affected by the Church of England’s role in historical adoption practices and would encourage anyone in need of help or support to contact your local church or one of the support organisations available via the links below.
Finding support
- Extensive help and support for those affected by this news can be found on the Church of England website here.
- If you wish to contact the Diocese of Ely Safeguarding team due to being affected by these historic adoption practices, please contact the team here.
- If you wish to contact your local church, you can find details by searching the ACNY website here.
- If you are calling from the Press, please contact the Media team by email at media@elydiocese.org.
The safeguarding team are holding a virtual drop-in session on Friday 26 June at 11:00am should anyone wish to ask any questions about the apology or the Church response.
Please get in touch with the team on safeguardadmin@elydiocese.org if you would like to join, and have not received details of the Teams meeting via email.