Spain's Roman Catholic Church has reached an agreement with the government to compensate victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. The accord follows complaints that religious leaders had failed to tackle the issue adequately.
The agreement enables the government to manage potential compensation in coordination with the Church, providing recourse for cases where other legal avenues are no longer available due to the alleged crime occurring too long ago or the individual accused having passed away.
The move responds to estimates suggesting that hundreds of thousands of Spaniards have suffered sexual abuse by Church figures, following similar reparative initiatives established in other countries where abuse has been uncovered.
Justice Minister Félix Bolaños stated, A democracy should not allow the existence of victims who have never been compensated [and] whose situation, on the contrary, had been covered up. He underscored that the agreement aims to pay off an historic, moral debt that we had with victims of abuse within the Church.
Signatories of the agreement included Luis Argüello, president of the Episcopal Conference, and Jesús Díaz Sariego, president of the Confer, which represents Catholic congregations. Sariego described the initiative as unprecedented, addressing crimes that have surpassed the statute of limitations.
According to a 2023 study from the Spanish ombudsman's office, about 1.1% of the population, or approximately 440,000 people, reported suffering sexual abuse at the hands of clergy or individuals associated with the Church. The Church has contested these findings but nevertheless created a reparative scheme to process abuse claims.
Victims' organizations have long criticized this model for lacking external input and transparency. Recent media investigations have surfaced allegations against numerous clergy members, adding pressure on the Church for accountability. Under the new framework, victims can submit their cases to an agency created by the justice ministry, which will present recompense proposals to be agreed upon with the Church.
The compensation could take various forms—symbolic, psychological, or economic—but specific amounts remain unspecified. The ombudsman suggested following practices from other European nations, with previous compensation amounts varying significantly.
Victims and advocacy groups view this agreement as a critical step towards transparency and historic accountability, emphasizing that the sustained struggle against endemic abuse within the Church should have been addressed long ago.
