First modification:
The proposal was approved by a large majority. Only the ultra-right party VOX opposed it. The investigation will be carried out by the Ombudsman through an independent commission. For years, numerous institutions have claimed these investigations into sexual abuse perpetrated for years in schools and centers governed by the Catholic Church.
The initiative will investigate sexual abuse of minors within the Church. The proposal was born from the left-wing United We Can (UP) party, which is currently part of the coalition government, and had the support at the last minute of groups that gave the approval a weighty turn.
The UP’s initial proposal was to investigate the abuses in Congress, an approach that did not obtain the necessary support, including the denial of the Socialist Party (PSOE), its partner in the government coalition, fearing that the issue would be turned into a “show”.
When the approach was modified and it became known that the investigative committee would have the power to compel the bishops to appear and that the person in charge of the investigation was the Ombudsman’s Office, the only ones to refuse were the far-right party VOX, who argued their refusal that the The courts are the only ones competent to clarify the complaints.
Some parties advocated that the committee of experts carrying out the investigations be “an authentic truth commission” and be able to force the Church to cooperate.
Church “Supplementary” Research
The Spanish Episcopal Conference is also carrying out an investigation on its own. The religious organization commissioned, last February, an investigation that has the purpose of “complementing” and “not replacing” the one carried out by the State.
In the Iberian nation there are 68 ongoing investigations, verified by the Prosecutor’s Office, on abuses in religious institutions, schools and congregations.
Last year, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reported that the number of priests denounced for pederasty since 2001 amounts to 220. Of these cases, 69 are still open and 151 concluded by resolution.
The “instrument to reach a goal”
A PSOE deputy who experienced the suffering of the victims up close, Juan Cuatrecasas, applauded the measure. His son was sexually abused by a teacher when he was attending an Opus Dei school.
Although the justice sentenced the perpetrator to 11 years in prison, only two years were handed down when the case was passed to the Supreme Court.
It is “the beginning of something big,” he said. “It is not an end in itself, but it is an instrument to reach an objective: the full recognition of all victims of abuse in the ecclesiastical sphere, in order to achieve truth, justice, reparation and accompaniment” .
A voting board with so much 🟢 means a lot to all the victims and survivors of sexual abuse in the Spanish ecclesiastical field. The honor and tenacity of them and they have made the beginning of the common goal a fact after so many years of struggle✔️ pic.twitter.com/hzxNRYAhwG
– Juan Cuatrecasas Asúa🔛/♥️ (@CuatrecasasJuan) March 10, 2022
Documented abuses in the Spanish Church
Allegations of abuse within the Catholic Church began to come to light in the 1990s in different parts of the world and several countries took the initiative to investigate them.
Local media highlight that in the absence of official data, 611 cases of pederasty in temples and schools of religious orders have been documented, with 1,246 victims.
With EFE and local media
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