Spain signs protocol to compensate, bring 'justice' to victims of clergy abuse

Spanish government and Catholic authorities signed on Monday (March 30) a protocol to compensate, provide recognition and reparations for victims of clerical abuse whose cases have expired under the statute of limitations or where the perpetrator has died.

Spain's Minister of Justice Felix Bolanos told media the reparations seek to provide justice to the victims who had previously not been supported, and that the protocol would begin taking effect on April 15.

"There are areas in which full reparation is impossible, where certain aspects of the wounds caused require...beyond what each of us can humanly do," the President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference Luis Arguello said.

The abuse scandal surfaced after an investigation by El Pais newspaper in 2021 uncovered more than 1,200 alleged cases, echoing similar scandals in the Catholic Church in the United States, Ireland and France.

A 2023 report by Spain's human rights ombudsman estimated hundreds of thousands of victims over decades, based on a survey of 8,000 people. It urged the creation of a state fund and accused the Church of failing to cooperate and trying to "minimise the phenomenon." More than 700 people shared their cases with the ombudsman up to 2024.

The ombudsman will review each case and propose compensation — financial, moral, psychological or restorative — based on the victim's request, Bolaños said. Previously, victims could apply directly to the Church, but many were reluctant, the new process is for victims who do not want to apply directly to the Church

-Production: Leonardo Benassatto, Nina Lopez/Reuters