Abuses: Spanish Ombudsman demands more exemplarity from the Church than from others

The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, has asked the Catholic Church in Spain to be more exemplary than other institutions in combating sexual abuse, while denying that the report he prepared is “ammunition” against it.

He did so in his appearance this Tuesday before the Joint Commission on Relations with the Ombudsman made up of congressmen and senators, where he gave an account of the Report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. A necessary response.

This report is the result of the commission made by the Congress of Deputies to the Ombudsman in the month of March 2022 and which was delivered to the president of the Cortes, Francina Armengol on October 27, 2023. That same day, The Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) announced the convening of an extraordinary Plenary Assembly to address the issue of abuses.

In a meeting that lasted three hours, Ángel Gabilondo expressed that he asks “the Catholic Church for a behavior that perhaps I do not ask of other institutions.” The Ombudsman has stated that “his way of proceeding is an absolute reference for the entire society”, to the point that the victims have suffered, with the abuse, “spiritual damage.”

In Gabilondo’s speech, this demand for greater responsibility than other institutions or social spheres, despite the fact that sexual abuse occurs with greater prevalence in them, is compatible with ensuring that “in no case is our report ammunition against the Church.” .

Even so, in line with what was stated in the report, Gabilondo has reiterated that, according to the survey commissioned to prepare the report, 1.13% of the adult population in Spain would have been victims of abuse in the religious sphere, which which would be equivalent to about 400,000 people. This extrapolation was rejected by the bishops.

Other considerations about the Catholic Church

Throughout his interventions, Gabilondo has listed other reproaches against the Catholic Church. Among them, that their response to the data requests has been “uneven” or that there are “many deficiencies in Canon Law regarding the victims, who are not part of the process, except in the investigation.”

In this field, the Instruction on sexual abuse published in 2023 by the EEC has been valued, which has represented “a regulatory advance, but insufficient” for the victims. He has also considered the reparation plan (PRIVA) prepared by the bishops as positive.

Likewise, he considered that the measures being carried out by the Catholic Church in relation to the prevention of sexual abuse and power “are very positive, especially in religious orders.” In this sense, he has highlighted the “extraordinary behavior of the CONFER” (Confederation of Religious Entities).

Even so, he has criticized that “there has been more enthusiasm in prevention measures” than in those related to “clarifying the past.”

Gabilondo has made explicit his different assessment of what is done by the religious and the dioceses in this field also by stating that “the orders that are close to the schools, with the children, have a perception of things that do not always, with all due respect, “It coincides exactly with what the EEC has.”

Regarding economic reparation for the victims, Gabilondo has also expressed his conviction that “if there is a Church plan and if there is a Government plan, it is still good for them to talk” about it.