Spain will create a fund, to be largely financed by the Catholic Church, to compensate an estimated 440,000 victims of decades of sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy, employees or teachers, the Spanish Minister of Justice announced this Tuesday (23 ).
A report published in October by the Spanish Human Rights Ombudsman produced an estimate of victims based on a survey of 8,000 people.
The document also recommended the creation of a state fund, accusing the Church of a lack of cooperation and seeking to “minimize the phenomenon”.
Justice Minister Félix Bolaños told reporters that the Church had failed for decades to respond to requests for reparations, and that its responses to the report had varied by diocese.
“We want to respond to prevent, repair and try to pay off the debt that our society owes to the victims,” said Bolaños.
The government scheme, expected to run until 2027, envisages an as-yet-undefined formula that would require the Church “to pay all or a substantial part of the compensation and provide other elements of symbolic reparation”.
Bolaños said that his Ministry would negotiate with the bishops about the Church's contribution to the fund and that he had the impression that it was willing to cooperate.
However, the Spanish Episcopal Conference said it could not accept a plan that excluded victims of sexual abuse in other organizations as it represented a “condemning judgment of the entire Church that addresses only part of the problem”.
In November, the Church said for the first time it would compensate victims, even in cases left open due to the death of the offending priest.
Bolaños said an independent specialized body would study cases in which the attacker died or the statute of limitations passed, or which never reached court.
The government also plans to organize a public event with the victims and their families to offer “symbolic reparations” on behalf of the state.
In neighboring Portugal, the Church announced this month that it would compensate victims on a case-by-case basis, an approach criticized by survivors' groups.
Source: CNN Brasil
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