In a startling and deeply distressing report, an independent commission has unveiled harrowing estimates of child abuse by the Roman Catholic clergy in Spain, dating back to 1940. The findings indicate that more than 200,000 minors are believed to have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy.
While the report did not provide a specific figure, it disclosed that in a survey of over 8,000 adults, approximately 0.6% reported being sexually abused by clergy members during their childhood. This percentage translates to an alarming tally of about 200,000 individuals, within Spain’s adult population of approximately 39 million.
The gravity of the situation only intensifies when lay members of the church are included, as the proportion then rises to 1.13%, equating to more than 400,000 victims. Ángel Gabilondo, Spain’s national ombudsman, made this alarming announcement during a press conference convened to present the report’s disturbing findings.
Spain, once a staunchly Catholic nation, has witnessed a shift towards secularism, with clerical abuse allegations gaining momentum only recently. Survivors have decried a lack of transparency and responsiveness, accusing the church of obstruction.
Ángel Gabilondo, a former education minister and the ombudsman, expressed deep concern, remarking, “Unfortunately, for many years there has been a certain desire to deny abuses or a desire to conceal or protect the abusers.”
The report unequivocally censures the church for its handling of child abuse cases involving the clergy, branding their response as “insufficient.” As a remedial measure, the report advocates for the establishment of a state fund to provide reparations to the victims.
In a significant development, the Spanish bishops conference declared its intention to convene an extraordinary meeting to deliberate on the report’s implications just before the report was presented in parliament.
It is noteworthy that Spain’s parliament had, in March 2022, overwhelmingly sanctioned the formation of an independent commission, led by the ombudsman, to investigate allegations of sexual abuse against “defenceless boys and girls” within the Catholic church.
In a notable departure from its past stance of resistance, Spain’s Catholic church, which had persistently refused to initiate its inquiry, did participate by providing documents related to cases of sexual abuse collected by dioceses.
Under mounting political pressure, the church, in February 2022, engaged a private law firm to conduct an “audit” encompassing historical and contemporary cases of sexual abuse by clergy, teachers, and other individuals associated with the church. This audit is expected to conclude by the end of the year.
In June, the Spanish church disclosed that through a complaints procedure initiated in 2020, it had identified 927 cases of child abuse. The church claims to have instituted protocols for addressing sexual abuse and established “child protection” offices within dioceses.
However, a rigorous investigation by El País, a top-selling Spanish daily, which commenced in 2018, has revealed a staggering 2,206 victims and 1,036 alleged abusers, tracing back to 1927. Experts assert that these findings merely scratch the surface of a much deeper issue.
The Catholic church’s global abuse crisis was thrust onto the world stage in 2002 when the Boston Globe exposed decades of child sexual abuse by priests and subsequent cover-ups by church leaders. Similar patterns of widespread child abuse were subsequently reported in the United States, Europe, Chile, and Australia, eroding the moral authority of the church and affecting its membership.
In 2021, an independent commission in France concluded that 216,000 children, predominantly boys, had been sexually abused by clergy since 1950. Germany also grappled with a troubling revelation, with a study identifying 3,677 cases of abuse between 1946 and 2014. Meanwhile, Ireland witnessed over 14,500 individuals receiving compensation through a government scheme for those subjected to abuse in juvenile facilities run by the Catholic church.
