A Spanish Catholic Church investigation into the sexual abuse of children by members of the clergy and lay staff has so far identified 728 alleged abusers and 927 victims since the 1940s, according to a preliminary report.
“We recognize the damage caused,” said Jose Gabriel Vera, spokesman for Spain’s bishops’ conference. “We want to help all victims, to accompany them in their healing.”
The issue came into the spotlight in Spain in 2021 after El Pais newspaper reported more than 1,200 alleged cases, years after sex abuse scandals rocked the Church in countries such as the US, Ireland and France.
Several inquiries have been launched, including one led by the country’s ombudsman, as well as an internal Church investigation.
“We want to know what went wrong in the selection of candidates for the priesthood, what went wrong during their training… what led a person who decided to give himself to God to commit sexual abuse,” Vera said.
The report, which gathered the testimonies of the victims, is not proof of guilt or innocence. The information contained in it shows that over 99% of the alleged perpetrators were men and that half of the perpetrators were clerics. Most of the recorded cases occurred in the 1960s-1980s.
According to the victims – mostly men – more than 63% of the alleged attackers died.
Last year, Spain’s national prosecutor’s office wrote in a letter to the ombudsman that the Church’s internal investigation was “partial” and “of little use.”
Editor: Liviu Cojan
