The Catholic Church has announced the establishment of a new National Board for Child Protection to prevent recurrence of child abuse, such as that catalogued in the Ferns inquiry report.
In addition, a new policy on child protection offers the guarantee that "where the Church is, children will be safe".
Speaking at the launch of Our Children, Our Church, a policy document on child protection, the Catholic primate, Archbishop Sean Brady said: "We want to ensure that children, parents, clergy and the public at large can have the utmost confidence in the committment of the Church to the protection of children and that the painful mistakes of the past will never happen again."
He said the publication of the policy marked an important moment in the Church's commitment to the care and protection of children.
"We want children to feel that they have been treated at all times with the dignity, respect and care they deserve by the community of the Church. Indeed, a fundamental principle of this policy is that, in all decisions made and actions taken in response to allegations and suspicions of child abuse, the welfare of the child is paramount.
"While the rights of all parties in such a situation shall be respected, the welfare of the child should always be the first and paramount consideration. This principle is wholly consistent with the Gospel view that the child is at the heart of the kingdom of God," he said.
The comprehensive policy document includes a code of behaviour for Church personnel working with children, which outlines appropriate conduct and precautions when, for example, children are taken on trips away from home.
Archbishop Brady said the Board would comprise parents and professionals working in the areas of childcare, law, theology, psychology and business, amongst others.
The board will be chaired by former attorney general and Supreme Court Judge, Anthony Hederman.
It will be set up by the Irish Bishops' Conference, the Conference of Religious of Ireland (Cori) and the Irish Missionary Union, which will be know as its sponsoring bodies.
It will, however, be independent of church institutions and any religious congregation.
Its responsibilities will have overall responsibility for the implementation of the new child protection guidelines and policies.
The canonical aspects of the guidelines have yet to be given official recognition by the Vatican but this will not impete the implementation of the "best practice" measures for child protection, Archbishop Brady said.
He added that the Holy See has been "helpful and constructive" in relation to the question of having the guidelines officially recognised.
The Minister for Children at the Department of Health and Children, Brian Lenihan, welcomed the guidelines and the establishment of the new child protection board.
"My office will be reviewing the document and its operation in the light of the Ferns report and in the work of the Commission of Investigation in relation to the Dublin diocese which I announced with the Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform."
The Minister said he looked forward to working with the Church authorities in the implementation of the Ferns report recommendations.
"Meetings have already been held by my Department with both the HSE and also with the Department of Justice Equality and Law Reform to advance the implementation of Ferns and the HSE have set up the necessary internal structures to carry out their part of the work involved," Mr Lenihan said.