The Barcelona hearing has sentenced a monk from Montserrat to two years in prison, after admitting the episodes of sexual violence committed against a minor in 2019. The court, in agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office and the defense, also ruled five years of disqualification for functions related to minors and probation after conviction. Furthermore, the Abbey of Montserrat must respond civilly to the compensation of 25,000 eurosa sum that the monk consigned to repair the damage, as advanced The Newspaper.
The abuses happened when the young man, who participated in the Montserrat Jove meetings, began to see the monk as a support figure in front of the bullying who suffered in high school. The bond became so close that the attacker became his confirmation godfather. Years later, and with the trust gained, the monk invited the minor to spend a weekend at the monastery, where the attack occurred. During the stay, and with the minor in a state of intoxication, the acts that the monk confessed to before the court took place.
This conviction is historic for Montserrat, a religious symbol in Catalonia, and reopens the debate on the responsibility of the Church in cases of sexual violence. In a statement, the Abbey expressed its condemnation of the events, recognizing the impact of these abuses on the victim and reaffirming its commitment to cooperation with Justice.
The institution He created a commission in 2019 to investigate other cases of abuse within his community after Miguel Hurtado’s complaintalso a victim of abuse at the Abbey. Hurtado managed to find two other cases of sexual abuse by a second religious.
The case coincides with the debate in Congress on the imprescriptibility of serious crimes of pedophilia. The initiative, proposed by Esquerra Republicana, PSC, Comuns and Junts, seeks to prevent this type of crimes against minors from going unrepaired.
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