The pope orders an investigation into the abuse of minors in the Spanish Church after receiving a report with 251 new cases
El Pope Francisco has ordered an investigation into the child abuse in the Spanish Church. Will be studied 251 cases related clergy and some seculars of religious institutions after the pontiff read the dossier with the El País research.
The correspondent in Rome of El País, Daniel Verdu, gave the pope on December 2 a 385-page dossier that included the journalistic investigation. This brings together new cases of clergy, religious and laity from 1943 until the last reported in 2018. These new 251 cases could increase the number of victims of abuse to 1.237, although from the newspaper they assure that according to the testimonies collected there could be thousands.
The number of victims could rise to 1.237
The dossier has already been transferred to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, an institution that deals with the investigation of pederasty in the Catholic world. The report has also been delivered to the president of the Juan José Omella Episcopal Conference, who has transferred him to the ecclesiastical court of Barcelona.
It should be noted that the document does not reveal the personal data of the victims to guarantee their anonymity, although the newspaper emphasizes that “has been made available to the Vatican to facilitate contact with the victims and that they can give a statement, if they so wish". "After three years of verification work, and after ruling out many other cases that are still under investigation, these gather plausibility, sufficient evidence or relevant information so that the ecclesiastical authorities can clarify them or take measures.”, They explain.
31 dioceses and 31 religious congregations
Most of the reported cases are concentrated in the 60s, 70s and 80s, and mostly affect 31 dioceses and 31 religious congregations. Most of the stories speak of pedophiles who abused dozens of children, usually teachers who sexually assaulted entire classes.
However, so far the Spanish Episcopal Conference he reiterates not knowing how many cases of abuse have occurred in the country. From this organism they ask that the victims report in their offices of attention, but they assure not to have registered hardly any cases. However, the Episcopal Conference sent another report to Doctrine of the Faith in which it collects 220 cases of abuse in Spain from 2001 to this year. On the other hand, the El País report includes more complaints in three years than the congregation in two decades.
