The Ombudsman adds 95 new testimonies from victims to his report on pedophilia in the Church

EL PAÍS launched an investigation into pedophilia in the Spanish Church in 2018 and has

an updated database

with all known cases.

If you know of any case that has not seen the light, you can write to us at:

Abusos@elpais.es

.

If it is a case in Latin America, the address is:

Abusamerica@elpais.es

.

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In the last five months, the Ombudsman has collected another 95 testimonies from victims of pedophilia in the Church, according to what the head of the organization, Ángel Gabilondo, announced this Friday during the presentation of his annual report in the Congress of Deputies.

These stories are added to the 487 that Gabilondo included in the report that Congress commissioned him in 2022 on “reports of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church and the role of public powers,” delivered last October.

In total, 582 people have gone to the public entity to say that they suffered sexual abuse.

In some cases, the stories date back to the 1940s.

Regarding whether he will include the location of these new allegations of abuse in an updated version of the report, Gabilondo has warned that his presentation to the parliamentary headquarters is still pending.

“We will add the cases that arise, but the report will be modified as soon as it is presented to Congress,” he explained.

In any case, the Ombudsman has clarified that these new data do not “alter the conclusions” that already appear in the study.

The EL PAÍS database—the only public one that details all the cases that have come to light through any means, such as the press, court rulings or admission by ecclesiastical institutions—counts 2,608 victims and 1,460 accused.

The Congress of Deputies by an absolute majority entrusted the Ombudsman with the preparation of this work in March 2022, after this newspaper's investigation - undertaken in 2018 and which uncovered hundreds of cases of pedophilia - led public institutions to address the problem.

Gabilondo created two working groups, a victim listening and care team and a commission of experts to analyze the data and write the report.

The work lasted a year and a half and the results were devastating: 1.13% of the population residing in Spain - some 440,000 people, according to EL PAÍS calculations - have suffered abuse in the religious sphere, according to a large survey. scale that he commissioned to incorporate into the study.

In the 779-page report, it can be seen that the different dioceses and religious orders did not cooperate equally with the Ombudsman when he requested information about the cases they were aware of.

“Not all bishops have collaborated, some have scolded us,” Gabilondo assured the media when he made the document public in October.

Likewise, from the testimonies collected by the listening team we can extract “the devastating impact that the abuses have had on specific people” and the disastrous action of the Church in the face of the scandal, silencing those affected on many occasions and evading its responsibility. .

For this reason, the institution decided to maintain the listening channels to continue receiving testimonies and serve people who need it.

“It is necessary to provide a response to a situation of suffering and loneliness that for years has remained, in one way or another, covered by an unfair silence,” Gabilondo added during said presentation.

Now, the institution indicates, “the fundamental mission” is to see what direction the legislative branch is going to take in light of the 24 recommendations that it included in its study.

The most relevant is the issue of reparation for the victims, for which the Ombudsman defended the creation of a state fund – in which the Church participates – to pay compensation and a special temporary body to regulate them.

Regarding this proposal, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, promised during his investiture debate in November “a legal reform” so that civil liability does not prescribe in these crimes.

“We are going to create a state fund for the payment of aid and compensation to victims that meets European standards and we are going to urge the Catholic Church to commit to recognizing and compensating all the people who unfortunately suffered abuse at the hands of of the clergy,” he stated.

The Spanish bishops have assured that they will not participate in this initiative and that they themselves will develop a comprehensive reparation plan for the victims.

However, this will not be independent and, according to data published by the Spanish Episcopal Conference in its own report, the Spanish Church only believes one in 10 victims who report a case of abuse.

Among other recommendations, the Ombudsman's report indicates that dioceses and institutes of consecrated life “should allow researchers access to the information contained in the archives,” that they should carry out a complete review of them and that the Church in general “should pay maximum attention to the selection processes of its members.”

Gabilondo did not want to comment on what position Congress should take regarding his proposals: “We are not the ones to tell [the deputies] what they should do.

“We are neither judges nor prosecutors.”

However, he recalled the urgency of the victims to be recognized as such through a statute and the need to be financially compensated.

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