Spain on Tuesday approved a plan aimed at making reparation and economic compensation for victims of sex abuse committed by people connected to the Catholic Church.
It also announced the future celebration of a public act of recognition for those affected and their families.
The Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños (main image), said the plan was based on recommendations in a report by Spain’s Ombudsman last October. From that report, he said it was concluded that some 440,000 adults may have suffered sex abuse in Spain by people linked to the church and that roughly half of those cases were committed by clergy. ALSO READ: Up to 440,000 victims of child abuse in Spanish church, Ombudsman reports.
Bolaños said the compensation would be financed by the church. But in a statement on Tuesday, Spain’s Bishops Conference rejected the plan, saying it discriminated against victims outside of church circles.
No details of how much or when financial compensation would be paid were released. Neither was a date set for any public act of recognition.
Bolaños said the plan aimed to ‘settle a debt with those victims who for decades were forgotten by everyone and now our democracy aims to repair’ that, and make it a central part of government policy.
After years of virtually ignoring the issue, Spain’s bishops apologised for the abuses committed by church members following the Ombudsman’s report but disputed the number of victims involving the church as exaggerated. That report accused the church of widespread negligence. ALSO READ: Spain’s bishops apologise again for sex abuses, yet dispute number of victims.
Bolaños said the government hoped to carry out the plan over the next four years in collaboration with the church. The project will include free legal assistance for all victims of sexual abuse and it will reinforce the prevention supervision in schools.
Only a handful of countries have had government-initiated or parliamentary inquiries into clergy sex abuse, although some independent groups have carried out their own investigations.
ALSO READ: Spain’s Catholic Church asks law firm to investigate allegations of child abuse.
ALSO READ: Spanish Congress backs move for inquiry into child abuse in Catholic Church.
Reconocer, prevenir y reparar. Hoy presentamos el Plan de respuesta al informe del @DefensorPuebloE sobre abusos sexuales en el ámbito de la Iglesia católica. Empezamos a saldar una deuda histórica, de la mano de la Iglesia, con las víctimas que durante años fueron olvidadas. https://t.co/JYj1sIXgXo
— Félix Bolaños (@felixbolanosg) April 23, 2024
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