The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, Dr Seán Brady, said last night that a chairperson and chief executive of the new National Board for Child Protection would be appointed shortly.
The positions were announced in the church's child protection document published last June, titled "Our Children: Our Church".
Dr Brady apologised to all those who had suffered lasting hurt at the hands of abusers in the church.
"As priests they should have been protecting and nurturing the talents of these young people," he said. "The betrayal of trust is horrendous. Today the church is ashamed of its past failings regarding child protection."
Dr Brady welcomed the publication of the Ferns report and expressed the hope that its publication would be an important step in helping all those who had suffered.
He said the church stood ready to assist them in any way it could, and prayed for the abused and their families. He also asked for prayers for the priests and people of Ferns.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, said the report was vital in bringing into the open the detail surrounding years of sexual abuse by priests.
"It is now clear that many children would not have suffered abuse had those with knowledge acted upon it," he said.
"Sexual abuse by priests has devastated the lives of those abused and their families. It has also resulted in enormous damage to people's faith, not only in the church but in God," he added.
He said: "It has distressed priests who find it hard to believe that their fellow clerics could cause so much harm. Many priests have been subject to public attack and ridicule while continuing to serve in parishes and different ministries."
Priests, he said, had enjoyed very privileged levels of trust in their communities. "It is clear that in many cases that trust has been betrayed by those priests who abused and by the failure of church authorities to act when they should have."