MADRID (SPAIN)
El Pais
October 15, 2018
By Jose Manuel Romero and Julio Nunez
The ecclesiastical leadership in the country refuses to provide any data on the incidents that it is aware of, with just three of the 70 dioceses passing on information to the prosecutor
For decades, the Spanish Catholic Church has been keeping quiet on the majority of sexual abuse cases involving minors of which it had knowledge or tried in its ecclesiastical courts. The facts of these incidents were not passed on to the public prosecutor, nor were sentences imposed against pedophile priests made public, apart from a handful of exceptions – most of which were forced.
The problem that most concerns Pope Francis, pedophilia in the Church, is only partially public knowledge in Spain thanks to cases that have been dealt with by the regular courts.
According to judicial records, judges have issued 33 rulings against priests over the last 30 years, for the abuse of 80 minors. The sentences have ranged from economic fines to up to 21 years in jail. Some of the sentences included compensation payments to the victims of between €1,200 and €70,000.
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