SPAIN: An independent commission’s report released on Friday estimates that over 200,000 minors in Spain have been subjected to sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy since 1940.
The report did not provide an exact number but stated that a poll of more than 8,000 individuals revealed that 0.6% of Spain’s adult population (about 39 million people) reported being victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy during their childhood.
The percentage increases to 1.13%—or over 400,000 people—when encompassing abuse by lay members, Spanish national ombudsman, Angel Gabilondo, informed a press conference called to present the findings of the report, which spans over 700 pages.
The recent disclosures in Spain mark the latest in a series of scandals that have shaken the Roman Catholic Church, with numerous sexual abuse incidents, frequently concerning children, surfacing globally over the past two decades.
The commission conducted interviews with 487 victims, who emphasized “the emotional problems” caused by the abuse, Gabilondo stated.
“There are people who have (died by) suicide… people who have never put their lives back together,” said the former Socialist education minister.
“Attempts to downplay the issue”
Unlike some other countries, Spain—traditionally a Catholic nation that has become increasingly secular—has only recently begun to see a rise in clerical abuse allegations, leading survivors to accuse the authorities of obstruction.
The report strongly criticises the Catholic Church’s handling of the issue, stating that “it has long been characterised by denial and attempts to downplay the issue.” The report’s recommendation includes the establishment of a state-funded compensation fund for victims.
“Regrettably, there has been a persistent tendency for many years to either deny these abuses or to hide and protect the abusers,” said Gabilondo.
Spanish parliament took a significant step in March 2022 by overwhelmingly approving the creation of an independent commission led by the national ombudsman to investigate cases of clerical abuse.
The country’s Catholic Church, which had long resisted conducting its own investigation, initially declined to participate in the probe. However, it eventually cooperated by providing documents related to cases of sexual abuse collected by dioceses.
Under growing political pressure, in February 2022, the Church enlisted a private law firm to conduct an “audit” of past and present sexual abuse by clergy, teachers, and other Church-affiliated individuals, with the audit set to be completed by year-end.
Additionally, the Spanish Church has established protocols for addressing sexual abuse and implemented “child protection” offices within dioceses.
“Milestone” in nation’s democratic history
Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, said that the release of the report was a “milestone” in the nation’s democratic history.
“Today we are a slightly better country, because a reality that everyone was for years aware of but no one talked about has been made known,” the socialist prime minister said to reporters in Brussels.
The Roman Catholic Church’s abuse crisis gained global attention in 2002 when the Boston Globe newspaper exposed a decades-long history of child sexual abuse by priests and subsequent cover-ups by church leaders.
Later, patterns of widespread abuse of children were reported not only in the United States and Europe but also in countries like Chile and Australia, eroding the moral authority of the 1.3 billion-member Church and having a negative impact on its membership.
For example, in 2021, an independent commission in France determined that approximately 216,000 children—primarily boys—had suffered sexual abuse by clergy since 1950.
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