The Spanish Church has apologized for sexual abuse by clergy
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If we do not take into account respondents whose activities are related to religious institutions, the indicator is 0.6%.
That is, more than 1 in 200 Spaniards faced sexual violence from the clergy.
The ombudsman said these results may be imprecise, but they provide an indication of abuse trends.
The bishops’ conference expressed “pain for the harm caused by sexual violence inflicted by some members of the Church” and asked the victims for forgiveness.
At the same time, the clergy questions the accuracy of the survey, and therefore does not confirm the scale of the crimes.
“That is, there is an opacity. An opacity that allows us to come to a conclusion that is not logical. We do not consider it logical.” Cardinal Juan Jose Omella said.
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This is not the first such accusation. In 2021, the newspaper El Pais published data on more than 1,200 cases of sexual abuse by clergy.
An internal church investigation released in June 2023 identified 728 alleged abusers and 927 of their victims since the 1940s.
We will remind you that we previously wrote that the Pope suggested the possibility of blessing homosexual couples.
Read also: “Tell, but don’t convince”: how to help loved ones affected by sexual violence during war
