Retreat programme for abuse victims goes national

A Catholic programme of support for victims of abuse has been granted charitable status and will be launched nationally in the next few weeks, writes Elena Curti.

“Grief to Grace” is a five-day retreat that has been adapted from a programme that has been running in the United States for some years. It will be offered to people who were abused by priests as children and other abuse victims.

Fr Dominic Allain, a priest of Southwark Archdiocese who has piloted the programme, told the Catholic Medical Association ­conference that the retreats combine a ­psychological and theological approach. They are run by a mental health professional, a priest and trained volunteers.

Fr Allain said the Church had to focus on healing the victims of clerical abuse. “The Church is healed when the victims of abuse are healed. They are the priority,” he said at the conference at Ealing Abbey on Saturday.

Private donors have funded the project thus far but Fr Allain says funds are urgently needed to allow it to expand. The Catholic Medical Missionary Society has announced it would give £1,000.