Cardinal Vincent Nichols has apologised for the role the Catholic Church played in placing babies with adoptive families in the decades after the Second World War.
Before the law was changed in 1976 to give local authorities responsibility for adoptions, more than half a million adoptions were overseen by organisations with religious connections. Many of those involved babies born to young, unmarried mothers, some of whom said they were pressured into giving up their children.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols told an ITV documentary the practices of adoption agencies "reflected the social values at that time, and were sometimes lacking in care and sensitivity".
The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales said the Church "understands and acknowledges the grief and pain caused by the giving up of a child through adoption".
His apology - “for the hurt caused by agencies acting in the name of the Catholic Church” - will be shown in an ITV documentary entitled Britain's Adoption Scandal: Breaking The Silence to run on 9 November.
It features women who speak about their experience of having their babies adopted through the Catholic Church, the Church of England and the Salvation Army among other organisations.
The cardinal's comments come as lawyers prepare a case calling for the launch of a public inquiry.
Carolynn Gallwey from Bhatt Murphy Solicitors told the BBC: "These women were told not to speak about what had happened to them.
"But now they are entitled to have their experiences recognised and the only way to do that is through a public inquiry."
The Home Office has not commented so far.
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