MADRID: A probe by the Spanish Catholic Church into child sexual abuse by members of the clergy and non-clerical officials has found over 728 alleged abusers and as many as 927 victims since the 1940s.
A report has also been published on the matter, Reuters reported on Friday.
Jose Gabriel Vera, the spokesperson for the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, said that they acknowledged the harm caused and that they wanted to support all victims. Jose Gabriel Vera said they wanted to know everything, including the selection process of candidates.
The matter was spotlighted in Spain in 2021 following media reports of over 1,200 alleged cases, years after sexual abuse scandals rocked the Church in the United States, France and Ireland.
Several investigations have been initiated, including one led by a Spanish ombudsman and the church’s internal probe.
The report, which accumulated victims’ evidence and is not proof of innocence or guilt, said that 99% of the alleged culprits were male and half of the abusers were priests. Most of the cases occurred in the 1960s-1980s.
Victims said most of them were male, while more than 63% of the accused had died. In 2022, the office of Spain’s prosecutor wrote in a letter to the country’s ombudsman that the Church’s internal probe was “partial”.
