Spain collects 445 testimonies of church abuse
- March 13, 2023
- 0
ANDl Spanish Ombudsman collected a total 445 testimonies of victims sexual harassment in the church in the nine months since the commission was set up to investigate it,
ANDl Spanish Ombudsman collected a total 445 testimonies of victims sexual harassment in the church in the nine months since the commission was set up to investigate it, the institution said on Monday.
Ombudsman Angel Gabilondo addressed Congress today with his “Annual Report 2022“, which includes an appendix about an investigation carried out a year ago by Parliament to analyze cases of abuse of minors committed by the Catholic Church in Spain.
The testimonies of the victims were submitted to the office through various open channels: e-mail, telephone, mail and in person.
Photo: Reuters
“We are satisfied with the speed of the testimony coming in and the number of victims who contacted us, but what really matters and worries us more than the number is that we listen to the victims and do it with respect and seriousness. , with care and confidentiality,” the Ombudsman said in a statement.
Gabilondo has already begun soliciting information from the Spanish dioceses for his investigation on cases of abuse in the church.
“Everything is in process, which allows me to think that The Church will cooperatesaid Gabilondo, who stressed that this was a “moment of facts” and to see “how far the cooperation” of the Church would go, though he acknowledged that he thought some dioceses would cooperate and others would not.
From the ombudsman’s office, they also met with the president of the Conference of Religious Studies (Confer) and with the five congregations with the highest number of cases of abuse.
In addition, they held meetings with the Escuelas Católicas association, which represents about 2000 schools and provided documents in which they appeal to compensation for victims. They also approached the Dean of the Tribunal de la Rota to request all the information they had.
Gabilondo warned that the investigation he was assigned to conduct in 2022 is the work of “many years of work” but indicated that he would report to Congress before the end of the legislature (at the end of 2023), “although we will need more time” . .”
Photo: Twitter (Ombudsman)
The data collected will be used to prepare a report to be presented to the Congress of Deputies on complaints of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Also State Attorney General’s Office Last year he opened the file to monitor cases not covered nationwide, but last month he denounced the lack of response from the Bishops’ Conference and the “very little information” received from the dioceses. He reached out to them last November and only 29 out of 70 dioceses responded.
(EFE)
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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