EL PAÍS launched an investigation into pedophilia in the Spanish church in 2018 and has an updated database of all known cases. If you know of a case that has not yet come to light, you can write to us at: [email protected]. If it concerns a case in Latin America, the address is: [email protected].
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Today, Spain has gone from being a global exception among Catholic countries, where there are no officially recognized cases of pedophilia in the Church, to becoming the country with the highest number of victims in the world: 1.13% of the current adult population were in the religious sector mistreated This emerges from a large-scale survey, the first of its kind in the country, carried out by the Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo. During his appearance in Congress, the ombudsman avoided using round numbers, which is also not mentioned in the report. But according to EL PAÍS calculations, 1.13% of the 38.9 million people registered in Spain in 2022 between the ages of 18 and 90 (age range covered by the survey) corresponds to about 440,000 people. More specifically, of that 1.13%, 0.6%, about 233,000 people, report being abused by a priest or religious, the rest by laypeople. More than 8,000 people were interviewed for the survey.
The demographic study is one of the pillars of the research that Gabilondo presented this Friday morning in the House of Commons, 18 months after the chamber commissioned it. The Ombudsman presented his report as an attempt to shed light on this hidden problem and criticized “the silence of those who could have done more to prevent pedophilia”.
The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, this Friday upon his arrival in Congress. Samuel Sanchez
These staggering figures, above France’s estimated 330,000 victims in 2021, represent a historic turnaround after decades of silence about abuses and, since the scandal broke in other countries starting in 2002, years of denial and cover-up by the Spanish church represents… Until two years ago, he stated that he knew of “zero or very few” complaints, according to the then spokesman for the bishops, Luis Argüello, in 2021. It was the impact of the investigation that EL PAÍS carried out in 2018, which brought the voices of hundreds of victims to the surface, ultimately forcing Congress in 2022 to demand the truth about what happened. Today the first step has been taken. This newspaper has contributed to the work of the Ombudsman Commission with all available data and Gabilondo emphasized this Friday that it was one of the sources of information for the study. The other, the Church itself, has agreed for the first time to disclose its own data, albeit incomplete and uncoordinated: dioceses and orders record 1,140 cases, a new figure, the highest number known so far. The first numbers were announced in April 2021 and only amounted to 220 cases.
The 1.13% of people who have suffered abuse in the Catholic religious sphere are divided into two parts, according to the survey carried out by the company GAD3 for the Ombudsman: 0.6% were committed by priests or religious, the rest by laypeople who worked in their institutions. The study notes that this 0.6% is “a similar figure to studies in other countries.” In any case, it is a figure that is framed within even more serious global abuse figures: the survey shows that 11.7% of respondents were victims of sexual abuse as a child or teenager, mainly in the family environment. Overall, the prevalence is higher in women at 17% than in men at 6%. In the religious sector, these data are reversed, it is men who have been abused the most: they represent 53.8% of people abused in the religious sector and 64.6% of those sexually abused by a priest or religious became.
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The comprehensive study consists of 779 pages and is entitled “Report on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church and the Role of Public Power.” A necessary reaction. It is a very careful and very hard work with the Catholic Church, which he blames for the lack of cooperation in the investigation, especially from some dioceses, but not so much from the religious orders. “The Catholic Church’s response, at least at the official level, has long been characterized by denial or trivialization of the problem,” the report said. The reaction of the Bishops’ Conference (CEE) to the Commission of Inquiry’s request for information “still reflects an attitude of caution and reticence.” “In addition to the declared willingness to cooperate, the data was presented in a way that tends to minimize the phenomenon and relegating it to a peripheral aspect within the institution, emphasizing the social dimension of the problem and avoiding addressing the internal factors that “you can.” favor the dynamics of abuse and cover-up.”
The document claims that “the defensive argument that the investigation should be expanded to sexual abuse in other areas forgets or downplays the social relevance of the Church and its power in Spain throughout much of the 20th century.” “There is no impression that the Church is particularly interested in solving crimes.” In this context, he notes that “in some episcopates, certain attitudes have been identified that indicate a reluctance to identify and investigate cases of abuse.” As an example, he cites the lack of attention to some complaints when no information was found in the files, “in a way assuming that the complainants, often adults over 60 years of age, have a false interest instead of showing the will to do so.” Investigate cases.” Regarding the diocesan archives, the information “proved to be exceptional and almost non-existent,” although many dioceses only consulted them and did not fully review them.
The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, will hand over the report this Friday in Congress to the President of the Congress, Francina Armengol, Samuel Sanchez
One of the most relevant points of the work is that it does not spare criticism of the institutions that “have long remained inactive in the face of the reality of sexual abuse and have not made the necessary efforts to protect minors”. Education centers. For this reason, she considers that the State, as a supervisor, also bears responsibility for what is happening and proposes “the creation of a special temporary body whose purpose is to compensate the victims (…) in cases in which they are due.” Due to the statute of limitations on the offense or for other reasons, criminal proceedings could not be carried out.” To this end, in collaboration with the Church, it recommends “the establishment of a state fund for the payment of compensation.”
“Public authorities have a responsibility to ensure that the victims of these crimes can see their claimed right to justice fulfilled,” through some kind of public statement in which they “based on the principle of presenting evidence before one special body composed of …”experts and independent persons, it is established that an event has occurred, its injustice is expressed and those who have suffered its consequences are recognized as victims and reparation is agreed.” Among the recommendations of the The report does not include the application of one of the main claims of the victims’ associations, namely that these crimes are not subject to statute of limitations. The study suggests that there would be no repercussions and focuses on proposals for redress and recognition of the harm. It is also proposed that a public ceremony be held to honor the victims.
Press conference of the Ombudsman Ángel Gabilondo this Friday in Congress.Samuel Sanchez
As background to the problem, the report points out that “there are indications that the clericalism, which is strongly rooted in the Catholic Church, the sacralization of the figure of the priest as God’s representative on earth, the loneliness of many clergy and the problems of acceptance .” Sexuality are factors that could have led to abuse. As a “specific risk factor,” she points out that scientific research “points to compulsory celibacy, the practice of penance, and a particular vision of sexuality.” “The Catholic Church has long viewed sexual abuse as a sin on the part of the perpetrator rather than as a harm inflicted on the person being abused. This idea has been overcome, albeit only recently,” the study says.
8,013 interviews
The survey included in the report is based on 8,013 interviews, of which 4,802 were conducted by telephone and 3,211 were conducted online. A total of 113,126 calls were made, contacting 23,991 people. Among those surveyed who reported abuse, the majority said the abuse took place in the family environment (34.1%), as all studies have consistently shown. Follow public roads (17.7%), non-religious educational area (9.6%), non-family social area (9.5%), work (7.5%), Internet (7.3%), religious education sector (5.9%), religious sector (4.6%), leisure (4%), sport (3%) and health (2.6%). That is, says the study, adding the percentages: “This leads us to suggest that virtually 6.6% of sexual abuse occurred in religious institutions.”
6.1% of people who were sexually abused answered that the perpetrator was a Catholic priest or religious. Additionally, 29.3% of victims reported that they directly knew other people who were abused by the same person. More than half of religious victims (51.9%) said they were aware of other cases of abuse by the same person.
Ángel Gabilondo delivers the report he presented to Congress this Friday. Samuel Sanchez
The report states that the commission responsible for the investigation commissioned the survey because “without these data it is impossible to engage in the debate about the extent of the problem in Spain and the comparability of prevalence on a solid empirical basis to express.” or not. to what has been found in other European countries.” The questionnaire consisted of 34 closed questions, 10 of which were addressed to all respondents and the remaining 24 only to those who reported having experienced sexual abuse when they were minors.
The work analyzes the problem based on the extensive information collected by a Victim Hearing Unit, which interviewed 487 people who contacted the Ombudsman to give their testimony. The majority, 334, attended in person. This work helped to understand the problem in depth, but the goal was not to quantify the victims individually, a task that seemed impossible. In any case, the Commission compiled the existing figures in two ways: through the cases collected by the Catholic Church itself, from dioceses, orders and the Episcopal Conference, which “do not always agree with each other”; and the investigation of EL PAÍS. The report does not fail to point out that this data “represents no more than a small part of a much more widespread reality.”
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Part of the interest and success of the work lay in the collaboration with the Spanish Church, which has always refused to reveal its knowledge of past abuses and cases known to it. However, this answer is still pending as the information provided was very incomplete. The Ombudsman used three ways to request data: that of the 70 Spanish dioceses, 410 religious orders and the EEC’s global figures. This organization has responded with data that is already known: The attention centers set up in 2019 have received a total of 728 reports of abuse with 927 victims as of December 31, 2022. The dioceses have recorded 354 cases. The orders: 786. Total 1,140. This number does not match the total for the EEC and there is no way to know whether there are duplicate cases or whether they are different. In any case, these data are new and exceed the 1,036 cases currently registered in the EL PAÍS database, with 2,206 victims. Another problem is that the Church’s responses contained only anonymous data, making it impossible to compare them with the responses received through EL PAÍS and the testimonies collected by the Ombudsman and obtain a single figure.
However, the report also highlights that this data is very incomplete. The document criticizes bishops who, in some cases, have not even responded to the Ombudsman Commission’s requests: “There are bishops who appear to have chosen to avoid the issue, who want to turn the tide, more concerned about the consequences for them .” Institution that applies the abuses to the victims, which leads them to recognize only a minimum or no cases despite the presence of evidence. The number of dioceses that said they had not received a complaint or notice of abuse was “very high,” at 20 out of a total of 70, adding Vic, which never responded. The document highlights three dioceses that provided comprehensive information from the first moment: Girona, Santiago de Compostela and Tarragona.
The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, during the press conference this Friday in Congress. Samuel Sanchez
However, “no clear and common criteria for cases of sexual abuse can be derived from the answers.” The dioceses did not comment on the cover-up, “not even those to which victims or indirect witness statements have expressly publicly referred.” Only one diocese has hinted at a possible cover-up.
Only a few dioceses claim to have paid compensation. Yes, they have been recognized, the majority in civil cases brought against Mallorca (30,000 euros), Tui-Vigo (44,000), Cartagena (47,000, 100,000 and 25,000) and Vitoria (5,000). The report highlights the lack of data in this section, “particularly when compared to the information provided by victims” who contacted the Ombudsman, “who reported many more cases of compensation from the orders than those who paid them”. so the dioceses.”
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