Spain's Roman Catholic Church has reached an agreement with the government to compensate victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy.
The accord follows complaints that religious leaders had failed to tackle the issue adequately.
The government will manage possible compensation in coordination with the Church, handling cases where other legal avenues are no longer available because the alleged crime took place too long ago or the individual accused has passed away.
Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards are estimated by the government to have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Church figures, following similar redress schemes in other nations like Belgium and Ireland.
Justice Minister Félix Bolaños stated, A democracy should not allow the existence of victims who have never been compensated, whose situation had been covered up. He emphasized that the agreement aims to pay off a historic, moral debt that we had with victims of abuse within the Church.
Luis Argüello, president of the Episcopal Conference, and Jesús Díaz Sariego, leader of Catholic congregations, confirmed the unprecedented nature of the initiative, addressing crimes past the statute of limitations.
A 2023 study suggested that 1.1% of Spain's population may have experienced clergy-related sexual abuse, equivalent to 440,000 individuals.
The new compensation framework will allow victims to file claims with a new agency established by the justice ministry, ensuring greater transparency and oversight compared to previous Church-led efforts. The financial compensation details remain unspecified, but comparisons with European standards indicate varying average compensation amounts for victims.
This agreement comes amid heightened scrutiny and pressure from both governmental and Vatican authorities, as well as victims' groups demanding accountability and action against historical abuses.
