Spanish bishops will debate a reparation plan for victims of abuse in the Church

The Permanent Commission of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) has given the green light to the Comprehensive Reparation Plan for Victims of Sexual Abuse of Minors and Vulnerable Persons Equated in Law (PRIVA), which will be addressed in an Extraordinary Plenary Assembly on next 9 July.

This Tuesday, July 4, the press conference took place at the CEE headquarters after the 267th meeting of the Permanent Commission, focused especially on sexual abuse within the Church and on the reform of Spanish seminaries, among other topics.

They will vote on the reparation plan for victims for cases already prescribed

The secretary general of the EEC, Mons. César García Magán, reported that the reparation plan for the victims will be voted on next Tuesday with the objective that the bishops know the final text and, if appropriate, give their approval.

This Plan, as reported by the spokesperson for the bishops, is aimed at the comprehensive reparation of victims of abuse, “mainly in those where the perpetrator has died or the case has expired, to offer adequate reparation that responds to the demand that each particular case requires.”

In this way, he confirmed that the plan will assist the victims of “those cases in which it is not possible to continue through judicial means, but there is a moral obligation to come forward.”

Mons. Magán also stated that there will be “economic reparation” for the victims and that there is “almost coordination with the Government’s instructions.”

The text of PRIVA has been prepared by the Advisory Service of the Offices for the Protection of Minors and has incorporated the observations of the bishops during the last meetings, as well as the indications of the Episcopal Council of Legal Affairs, the body of Compliance of the Episcopal Conference and the Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER).

Likewise, he reported that “there have been meetings with the victims” although he did not confirm their invitation to participate in the meeting on July 9.

They address the reform of seminaries in Spain

For their part, they reported that the president of the Episcopal Subcommittee for Seminaries, Mons. Jesús Vidal, brought to the Permanent meeting the draft of the Plan for applying the criteria for the reform of seminaries in Spain.

The basis of this draft is the document “Some criteria for updating initial priestly formation in the major seminaries of the particular Churches that make up the Spanish Episcopal Conference”, which the Spanish bishops received at their meeting on November 28, with Pope Francis and the Dicastery for the Clergy.

The members of the Permanent Commission have evaluated the document and have made their contributions. The text will be studied at the next Plenary Assembly in November.

About the former Poor Clares of Belorado

During the question period, the Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo also stated that, although in the meetings “they have not officially talked about Belorado”, they have addressed the topic during the breaks.

“It is a painful issue, very regrettable, because declaring a schism is very regrettable,” said the prelate regarding the former Poor Clares.

For García Magán, “everything that has happened is incomprehensible, not only with the Poor Clare nuns, but with the characters who have been in Belorado.”

He also recalled that in times of crisis, Saint Francis and Saint Clare reformed the Church “from within” and not from without “as did Luther and those who followed in his wake.”

The spokesperson for the Spanish bishops reiterated that the Archdiocese of Burgos is acting “with clarity, charity and patience” and stressed that “it is very sad that some daughters of Saint Francis and Saint Clare have chosen the path of breaking communion with the Church ”.