Spain: Compensation to victims of abuse in the Church to be set by the State and paid by the Church

The Spanish Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, Félix Bolaños, held a press conference at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice. The purpose of this appearance was to explain the agreement between Government - Church in Spain on a new avenue for redress of child sexual abuse through the Ombudsman.

Bolaños explained that the agreement reached, after two years of «arduous and complicated negotiations» and in which in difficult moments «the Vatican advocated for an agreement», establishes that reparations will be made to all victims of abuse in the Church, provided that they cannot resort to legal proceedings, because most of them are time-barred. 

How will these repairs work?

As explained by the Minister, the State will create a processing unit in the Ministry where support will be given to these victims, respecting their privacy, to present their request for reparation, which can be economic, moral, psychological, restorative or all four simultaneously.

This request will be transferred to a victims' unit, under the guardianship of the Ombudsman who will present it to the victim and to the Church; if they have the approval of both, the Church will pay (in the case of financial reparation, the amount fixed).

If any of the parties is not in agreement, it will go to a second instance in which the Church, the State and victims will meet again, and there, in a joint work, an attempt will be made to reach an agreement. If there is no agreement either, the Ombudsman's criteria will prevail.

The Minister has reiterated on several occasions that, in this agreement, it is established that the compensation is fixed by the Spanish State and paid by the Church.

The agreement, which is limited only to victims of abuse within the Catholic Church in Spain, has been signed for one year, extendable for one more year.

Luis Argüello: «A new way to repair».»

After the appearance of the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts, the President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference explained the role of the Church in this agreement, which joins «the steps that the Church is taking in this sense in its dioceses and congregations».

Argüello wanted to highlight the fact that, in the work of the diocesan offices and religious congregations, «we have found some important circumstances to incorporate into this agreement: people who have suffered abuse in other areas: sports, state education, centers for the protection of minors, etc. For this reason, it has seemed important to us the commitment that in the development of the law for the protection of children and adolescents, a proposal similar to the one made by the Church with the PRIVA commission should be made, so that other sectors can offer reparation to the victims in spite of being prescribed cases». 

Likewise, the president of the Spanish bishops emphasized his interest in tax exemptions for the indemnities.

Jesús Díaz Sariego: «society must support the victims, including those who have not been abused in the Church».»

In this appearance, the president of CONFER, Jesús Díaz Sariego, highlighted the moral commitment of the Church that assumes the reparation of cases that are already prescribed and that «a new way is opened for those people who do not want to access the PRIVA commission, but we must recognize the work that this commission is doing».

Díaz Sariego highlighted the value of the compensation already paid, the work of prevention and the work of the Church and its religious congregations in this area and emphasized that «we are in a position to demand that society as a whole support the victims, including those who have not been abused in the Church».»