The bishops consider the recommendations of the Ombudsman “valuable”, but do not accept the accusations of cover-up to cover up cases of sexual abuse by the clergy. Days after the institution led by Ángel Gabilondo confirmed that the Catholic hierarchy followed a strategy of “concealment” of the problem, the secretary general of the Episcopal Conference and spokesperson for the organization, César García Magán, highlighted: “There is no bishop prosecuted, neither civilly, nor criminally nor through canonical means.
The Church will collaborate with the victim compensation fund advocated by Gabilondo only if all victims are compensated as a whole, not just those harmed by the clergy. Otherwise, they will arbitrate their own mechanisms to compensate the victims in their area. «If a fund is established, we would be willing to collaborate in that fund if there is also an integration of the other aspects, of the other areas where there are abuses. But if that were not the case, the Church, as it is already doing, would have its own comprehensive reparation process for the victims themselves,” García said. If only those attacked by clerics were compensated, “first and second class victims would be created.”
In a press conference held to explain the conclusions of the extraordinary plenary assembly of the Episcopal Conference, which met to study the Ombudsman’s report, the president of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, Juan José Omella, once again rejected the extrapolations made by the press based on the GAD3 survey for the commissioner of the Cortes Generales.
Error range
The demographic work indicates that 1.13% of the Spanish adult population suffered sexual abuse when they were minors in the ecclesiastical environment, and 0.6% suffered it at the hands of priests and religious. These numbers would show a figure of 445,000 victims in the religious environment. In turn, 236,000 people were allegedly subjected to harassment perpetrated by clerics. “The entire society knows how to add,” said Omella. «There is an opacity to reach a conclusion that is not logical. There is an intention to come up with a figure that is a lie and does not correspond to reality. “Who obtained this data?” asked the cardinal. The spokesperson for the bishops went further and alleged that the survey includes a margin of error of +/-1%, which prevents extrapolations. García Magán asserted that following those same calculations, 4.5 million Spaniards would have been victims of sexual assault, since the survey maintains that 11.7% of those questioned suffered abuse in their childhood. «We cannot stay locked in numbers, it would be disrespectful. Even if I were a victim, I would have the same right. “To cast a shadow of suspicion on so many priests and religious is false and unfair.”
If only those attacked by clerics were compensated, “first and second class victims would be created.”
Omella elaborated on his skepticism when making such projections. «The abuses hurt us, but at the same time we believe that this extrapolation does not correspond to reality. If we stick to the mathematical accounts, we would all be in that dynamic of abuse, you and me. It seems to me that this is not done well,” said the archbishop of Barcelona, who stated: “We are about letters and not about mathematics.”
In an acknowledgment of errors, Cardinal Omella admitted that the transfer of priests accused of abuse was a mistake: “We all learn late. For centuries we have lived with slavery, and in the end the Church realized that it is a serious mistake to live despising human beings. “Slavery was abolished.” «How long have we been aware of these abuses, both in the family and in the Church? We removed the person from their place until we realized that that couldn’t be done. “We help each other: some who denounce, others who report, others who act,” said the cardinal, who welcomed the fact that abuses have fallen drastically in recent times.
In relation to the report from the law firm Cremades & Calvo Sotelo, commissioned by the Church itself to evaluate clerical pedophilia, the Episcopal Conference limits itself to postponing the matter to the plenary assembly that will take place in November. García Magán confirmed that Javier Cremades and experts from his team were present at the bishops’ meeting, and specified that the firm “has not officially delivered the report,” although it has “confidentially reported on the progress of the work.” This initiative causes a deep division among the prelates, some of whose members fear that the investigation will further deteriorate the image of the Church.
#Church #denies #coverup #bishop #charged