Last Monday, Spain’s socialist party proposed a plan to investigate the sexual abuse of minors within the Catholic Church. The Prime Minister has tasked the ombudsman with compiling interviews with victims, members of the clergy, experts, historians, and members of the judicial system to conduct a full-scale investigation of the growing number of cases of child molestation in the Church. There have been more than 1,200 reported cases of sexual abuse committed in Spanish churches alone, according to a report done by the El Pais newspaper, and this investigation could prove that the numbers are even larger than that.
The Catholic Church has denied many of these allegations and has been attempting to prevent the investigation from becoming a reality by setting up internal commissions to hear these cases of abuse, but the Prime Minister has concluded that an external investigation is necessary after increasing pressure from members of Spain’s socialist party.
The proposal is in conjunction with an earlier announcement from the Spanish parliament stating that it is motioning to begin a parliamentary inquiry into the issue as well. The final decision on the committee’s creation will be voted on later this month.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been vocal about his support for the victims who have come forward about their abuse. Last Sunday, he tweeted, “The victims can not be silenced. It is time to heal our wound and prevent it from happening again. Committed to not letting the abuses committed in the Church go unpunished.”
Sanchez’s support for the victims has been met with hostility from the Catholic church and resistance from the governmental group representing the Bishops of the Catholic church. The Catholic church has continuously been in opposition of an external investigation by the government, and has encouraged any victims to reach out to committees set up within different dioceses. There are dioceses committees within the clergy in many countries throughout Europe, but it is clear that the Catholic church’s own investigation of these cases is not enough and has been plagued with inconsistencies. Similar governmental investigations have been occurring all around Europe. Italy, Portugal, France, Germany, and Spain are all in the process of launching full-scale investigations into members of the clergy and there have been more and more victims coming forward about their abuse in the recent months. According to a report done by the Bishops of Council of France, an estimated 216,000 victims have been sexually abused by members of the Catholic clergy from 1950-2020, about 80% of whom were boys.
Spain is one of the later countries to start an external investigation – the Catholic Church has had great influence in Spain for many centuries. Although the current pope has done more to acknowledge the severity of this problem than any other pope in history, there is still much to do in order to uncover the abusers within the Church. The Spanish government must launch its own investigation to avoid any cover-ups or misinformation that would protect the abusers.
If the investigation gets approved and finally begins, it will be a watershed moment in Spanish history. Hopefully the commission can use this newly-proposed investigation to bring justice to victims of sexual abuse and put an end to this horrific epidemic.