The head of the Catholic Church in Perth has written to all members before next week's royal commission into child sexual abuse hearings, saying "we have failed terribly".
In an open letter to the entire Catholic community, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of the Archdiocese of Perth reiterated his full support for the work of the commission, which will hold hearings in the city from April 28 until May 9.
He expects a particular focus will be the abuse at institutions run by the Christian Brothers, especially at Castledare, Clontarf, Tardun and Bindoon.
"It was from these institutions that horrific stories of sexual abuse by Catholic religious brothers and others associated with the church first emerged in our Australian context," the archbishop wrote.
"We now know, to our shame, that this problem has been far more widespread.
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"The curse of sexual abuse has infected the Catholic church right around the country.
"Tragically, it is becoming ever clearer that it is a universal problem for the church.
"We have some hard questions to answer."
His letter goes on to state that "as a church we have failed terribly", confessing that "church leaders have at times failed to respond adequately, moving abusers from one place to another" thereby putting other young people at risk.
The archbishop said the church must "continue to focus on measures which put the welfare and safety of our children and young people at the very centre of our concerns".
"We express our horror and deep shame at what has happened and humbly ask forgiveness from those whose lives have been so deeply and badly damaged."
Since being appointed Archbishop of Perth in 2012, he has twice apologised to the victims of sexual abuse within the church, broadly in December last year and earlier this month, when he specifically apologised to the victims of a 79-year-old Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to historical child sex offences.
