Javier Cremades (Ceuta, 56 years old), president and founder of the Cremades & Calvo Sotelo law firm, is blunt about the direction that the audit of pederasty in the Church that the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) has commissioned will take: “We will go until background. Until the whole truth comes out.” To do this, he does not doubt that the bishops will open their files and meet with his team when they investigate the cover-up. He says that he saw in the eyes of the prelates the desire to see an x-ray of the problem and to repair the damage caused. He insists, this time against the speech of the EEC, that the investigation of EL PAÍS delivered to the Vatican is truthful and rigorous, that it must be taken seriously. “It has been, basically, a good for everyone and also a help to the Church”, he affirms. “It has helped foster the culture of discovery versus that of cover-up.” Against the accusations of some associations of victims of not being impartial for being a member of Opus Dei, the lawyer emphasizes that with this work the prestige of the office is at stake. “I would be liquidating my professional and family life,” he adds.
Ask. What motivated them to do this work for free?
Answer. It’s a discussion we’ve had [en el despacho]. Indeed, it could seem like a contribution to the Church. But we didn’t want to make a business out of that topic, rather we wanted to make a contribution to the whole of society.
P. That the Church open its files to know the cases that it has managed internally will be essential to prepare that report of the truth. Has the EEC put any impediment to it?
R. We have a first coordination meeting with the EEC this Tuesday where we want to start defining the mechanism. What I do know is that we have your commitment to facilitate [esa documentación]. Although I have the question of whether that will correspond later, in each specific diocese, with a radical opening to access to information. I have noticed a genuine interest [en la CEE] because a true photo of what has happened is presented. The investigation will involve access to documentation, without which it will not be possible to issue an external opinion. That would be a resounding failure, which is not going to happen.
P. If the dioceses refuse to open those files or the bishops do not agree to discuss a possible cover-up, the report would be incomplete.
R. I don’t see that scenario. I can’t imagine presenting a botched or ridiculous thing. I can’t even imagine the bishops not showing their faces. It is unthinkable that we can issue an opinion if we do not have documentation. It would be as if I am a doctor and a sick person comes for a check-up. And he won’t let me draw blood, he won’t take off his pants, he won’t lie down, he won’t let me listen to him. He would tell her: “Hey, I want to cure you, but I can’t do the analysis. I can’t give an opinion.”
P. The CEE cannot force the dioceses to open their archives. In the event that there are bishops who do not want to collaborate, will they mention it in the report?
R. Absolutely. If we have many incidents of this type, the audit will be partial and, therefore, insufficient.
P. What if they realize they don’t have the conditions to make a good report?
R. I would be liquidating my professional and family life. I would be committing suicide [laboralmente]. That is precisely why I have full confidence in this.
The EL PAÍS investigation has helped promote the culture of discovery against the culture of concealment, which dominated social life and that of the Church in the 20th century”
P. There are two things that the Church has so far not wanted to touch: compensation and cover-up. Will they show up on the audit?
R. Of course. We will include them. [A los obispos] I have seen them needing and willing to do so.
P. And no Will there be reticence on the part of the executive commission of the EEC? There are important bishops, like Antonio María Rouco Valera, accused of covering up cases.
R. I am convinced that we will have access to all the bishops for a direct conversation on all issues. I’d be surprised if they didn’t want to talk to us. I anticipate the opposite: they will be willing to explain their point of view.
P. What role do you think the media have played in making this problem visible?
R. yeswithout the media we would not be where we are. The EL PAÍS investigation has revealed that the number of victims was more widespread than initially thought or was simply unknown. It has also helped empower the culture of discovery against the culture of cover-up, which dominated social life and that of the Church in the 20th century.
P. And how are they going to deal with the cases that have come out in the press? Are they going to investigate them one by one or are they going to be directly part of your accounting?
R. On Wednesday we will meet with the two managing partners of the German firm [que realizó el informe de abusos en la diócesis de Múnich], who are going to explain to us how they did it and what their methodology is. His work is the most similar to what we are going to do. I don’t know what we are going to find, but the idea is to have a broad criteria so that the photo can be true. Everything that is credible to us, that is reliable.
P. After applying that criterion of credibility, they will then audit the possible compensation. What will be the methodology for paying victims?
R. Today it is impossible to guess what our proposal will be, but we are going to pronounce on civil liability [de la Iglesia]. A moral or physical damage always carries with it a reparation. It is necessary to study how that formula can be.
P. Do you think that an X-ray of the problem can be obtained in a year of investigations?
R. CI hope to get closer to 12 months. I would not like to see that work delayed much further. We have the experience of the French and German commissions. We are also going to see, as I say, the mountain of things that there may be. We have to run a lot, but for that we will also have a sufficiently large team.
P. One of its focuses are the victims. What will the group of professionals who talk to those who contact them be like?
R. We have created a team of five women basically to listen and speak. For what? We are neither psychologists, nor psychiatrists, nor healers, to understand and accompany. We are mere spectators recently arrived.
P. But, will they have the help of specialists from another field?
R. That is essential. We are looking for people who have technical and professional competence, and credibility in society, to be able to also make an expert report or an external audit opinion.
If the Church does not do its part, the office does not do its job and society does not have the information it needs, we will have increased the pain of the victims”
P. Victims’ associations say that an investigation commissioned by the Church will have no credibility.
R. It I fully understand and understand the suspicion. We start from years where the relationship has not been easy. It can only be overcome with the work we are going to do on a day-to-day basis. I think they do well to be critical and to demand [independencia]. The only thing on the table is our professional career: we are dedicated to this and we know how to do it.
P. They also accuse him that being a member of Opus Dei takes away the independence of the office he presides over in this matter.
R. I think the important thing is not proximity [a la Iglesia]but professionalism. Exactly the same thing happened in France. Dr Jean-Marc Sauve [que dirigió la investigación que encargaron los obispos galos] he is a practicing Catholic. Society showed a lot of disbelief and uncertainty. I understand perfectly [esas acusaciones] and we will solve it with a job well done. There are only two options: either it is well done and offers a solution, or it is wrong and a failure. There is no option to do something other than the right thing. If the Church does not do its part, the office does not do its job and society does not have the information it needs, we will have increased the pain of the victims and the social dimension of the problem.
P. How will the Church collaborate with civil authorities?
R. Within what data protection allows us, [la colaboración] it will be total Absolute. We are in a very preliminary phase [sobre cómo será la comisión pública]. When I spoke with Ángel Gabilondo [el Defensor del Pueblo, que el Ejecutivo ha propuesto para presidir una comisión independiente]we both saw it clearly: we won’t know until he has an encomienda.
If you know of any case of sexual abuse that has not seen the light of day, write to us with your complaint at [email protected]
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