Sexual abuse of 4 lakh girls within the Church in Spain over past 8 decades

Madrid (Spain) – According to a report, since 1940, over 4,00,000 girls, both minors and adults, have fallen victim to sexual abuse at the hands of Roman Catholic Church priests in Spain. The report also highlights that an additional 4,00,000 girls experienced sexual abuse perpetrated by lay members of the Church. Angel Gabilondo, Spain’s National Ombudsman, is the source of this information. The report calls for the creation of a state fund to provide compensation to the victims and has been formally presented to the Spanish Parliament. Notably, in March 2022, the Spanish Parliament established an independent commission dedicated to investigating allegations of sexual abuse within the Church.

1. In relation to this abuse, the commission gathered information from 8,000 individuals, with 0.6% of them acknowledging that they had experienced sexual abuse within the Church. Considering Spain’s population of 3.9 crore, this equates to 2,00,000 cases.

2. Many individuals reported being victims of abuse by priests during their childhood attendance at Church. In addition to the priests, a significant number also accused other members of the Church. The percentage of abuse by these members stands at 1.13%, which amounts to 4,00,000 cases.

3. The Spanish Church said in June it had discovered 927 cases of child abuse through a complaint procedure launched in 2020. It argues it has set up protocols for dealing with sexual abuse and has set up “child protection” offices within dioceses (senior priests) to prevent sexual abuse.

4. In 2018, an investigation by a Spanish newspaper uncovered 2,206 cases of sexual abuse dating back to 1927, with 1,036 accused identified.

Editorial Perspective

It wouldn’t be inaccurate if someone formed the perception that ‘Church’ symbolises a place of sexual abuse and ‘Pastor’ implies a lustful individual. In such cases, one might wonder why Christians worldwide do not openly voice their protest against these incidents.