Cremades points out at least 2,056 minors abused in the Church in 120 years and the bishops estimate less than 1,000 cases

MADRID, 21 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The report from the Cremades law firm

Sources from the Episcopal Conference consulted by Europa Press have specified that after analyzing all the available studies on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Spain, they estimate that a total of less than 1,000 cases have been witnessed, specifying that the total number cannot be known exactly. of victims and that all the cases witnessed are not all that exist given that there are victims who have died and others who have preferred not to reveal the facts.

The dates of the abuses in the Cremades Report range from 1905 to the present, while the Spanish Episcopal Conference indicates that the cases are recorded, for a matter of "biology", from the 1940s to the present. , with the majority of abuse reported between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s, when they began to decline.

The Cremades audit initially includes a total of 1,383 complaints, "the number of perpetrators being undetermined." However, the analysis of all the groups analyzed leads them to affirm that the total number of complaints in accordance with the indicated methodology amounts to 1,302 complaints.

However, CEE sources have also warned that duplicity has been detected in this external audit of some 300 cases reported by the Vatican that Cremades has added to the list but that have been sent to the Holy See by the different dioceses, for example. what would already be accounted for.

Regarding the number of victims, the Cremades report points out that 1,599 are deduced from the complaints and adds that in 277 complaints received the number is "undetermined" and in another 180 it does not appear, so it deduces a minimum of 2,056 victims, although it specifies that "it is objectively evident that the number is higher."

However, in their report 'Par dar Luz' the bishops insist that the diverse methodology used in the different studies makes it very probable that there are cases that have been included in them two, three or even four times. "To know each case is to know each person, each story, each suffering, and this has been the goal of the report To Give Light," he says.

Regarding the profile of the victims, the Cremades study reveals that they are mostly men, who suffered abuse in schools and minor and major seminaries, by a priest, religious, academically responsible teacher of the minor (in 99 percent of cases), although there are also cases of caretakers, those responsible for administration, those responsible for extracurricular activities or catechists.

Regarding the type of abuse committed, it is mostly "abuse" and it is noted that the seriousness of the events prevents the victims from recounting what happened, highlighting that the term "abuse or touching" covers a very heterogeneous reality.

Among Cremades' recommendations, the establishment of an Independent Commission for the comprehensive reparation of victims is proposed, which includes the demand for criminal responsibility of the victimizer, where reparation is agreed upon with the victim.

Meanwhile, in the latest version of the report 'To give light', the bishops have registered a total of 806 cases, of which they consider 205 proven; not proven but credible, 70; unproven, 280; under investigation or pending resolution, 75; filed due to prescription or death of the accused, 13; with false complaints, 3; and cases excluded because they refer to adults, 24.

For its part, the Ombudsman's report, presented last October, recorded a total of 487 victims who had reported to the institution and accompanied their testimonies with a survey that estimated 0.6% of people affected by abuse. sexual in the Church.

According to the bishops, the report 'To give light' is the "most complete document" of those published to date, as it offers a historical study of the situation of sexual abuse in society and in the Church, a detailed study of the complaints received; a critical analysis of the measures adopted by the Catholic Church in Spain and a compilation of the Observations and Recommendations received and that the Conference is studying to integrate into its Comprehensive Reparation Plan for Victims of Abuse.

In addition to relying on these data collected from CEE organizations, this report includes contributions from the rest of the studies carried out to date on sexual abuse committed against minors, both in the Church and in society.

"It is about offering a complex look at a painful reality that has made and makes so many people and institutions suffer. A fundamental part of this study is based on the legal and institutional audit delivered last December 16 by the Cremades firm.

On the other hand, the CEE highlights that to know the reality of abuses in society, data provided by the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of the Interior, the ANAR Foundation and the NGO Save the Children have been used, as well as data of various sociological investigations carried out in the academic field on sexual abuse.

Finally, the bishops specify that the receipt of the legal audit of Cremades