Big revelation on sexual abuse cases in SpainImage Credit source: AFP
A very serious and shocking revelation has come to light regarding the Roman Catholic Church in Spain. Here more or less two lakh minor or adult girls have become victims of sexual exploitation. These are the figures which were committed by Catholic priests. If we talk about crimes committed by common members of the Church, then four lakh girls are victims of sexual abuse.
An independent commission spoke to more than 8,000 people and 0.6 percent admitted that they had been sexually abused. The population of Spain is 39 million and out of this, 0.6 percent is equal to two lakh population. Many told that when they went to church in their childhood, the priests exploited them. Apart from the pastors, many also made serious allegations against other members of the church.
If we talk about crimes committed by common members, then in percentage it is 1.13 percent which is equal to four lakh population. Spain’s National Ombudsman Angel Gabilondo said in his report that these figures are from 1940 till now.
Catholic Church has been accused of sexual abuse before
The Catholic Church has been hit with numerous allegations of sexual abuse globally over the past two decades, often involving children. Spain was traditionally considered a Catholic country but has now become a secular one. The report has appealed to create a national fund to provide compensation to the victims. The report has been presented in the Parliament of Spain. In fact, in March 2022, the Spanish Parliament had formed a committee to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse against the Church.
The Spanish Church reported in 2020 that an investigation based on some complaints had uncovered 927 cases of sexual abuse. The church argues that it has implemented protocols to deal with sexual abuse and has established “child protection” offices within the diocese. In 2018, the Spanish newspaper El País also conducted an investigation which uncovered 2,206 cases dating back to 1927, in which 1,036 accused were identified.
Accusations against the Church in America, France and even Australia
After some recent cases of sexual abuse came to light in 2002, an initiative was taken to investigate the cases. Such cases have come to light from the Catholic Church in America, Europe, Chile and even Australia, due to which the moral authority of the Church has suffered a lot and its image has also been tarnished. In France, an independent commission reported in 2021 that 216,000 children, mostly boys, had been sexually abused by clergy members since 1950. In Germany, a study identified 3,677 cases of abuse between 1946 and 2014.
