The Catholic Church has a serious stain due to the cases of pedophilia that have occurred in different dioceses around the world and, especially, due to the walls of silence that have been built around it. Catholic sectors claim, with reason, that cases of child abuse have also occurred in many non-religious school institutions and that the focus is on the Church and that they are victims of a large international media campaign. But this reality cannot cover up the tremendous scandal of so many outrages committed over so many years and affecting so many people. The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, yesterday presented the report limited to Spain and which is devastating because it affects more than 400,000 victims since the 1940s, a truly unprecedented figure.
It is not a pleasant topic, but Spanish society is stronger today than yesterday if it is able to thoroughly and freely address these cases that were hidden by religious malpractice. The Spanish Episcopal Conference will speak out this coming Monday after thoroughly studying the 770-page report presented by the Ombudsman, although last June it already made an act of contrition and apologized for the 728 cases it discovered and which affected 927 victims. This is the way. The difference between the number of people affected by the ecclesiastical investigation and the one presented yesterday by Gabilondo is excessive: 927 compared to more than 400,000. However, even if we stay with the smallest figure, sin exists, and so does the desire to hide it. Precisely the Ombudsman's report emphasizes the little collaboration that he has found in some dioceses to carry out his work.
The victimization of the Catholic Church for feeling criminalized by certain press and political parties is not sufficient reason not to collaborate in the investigation or to look the other way. We hope that on Monday the Episcopal Conference will take the opportunity to recognize the errors and help the victims. It will be the best proof of Christian values.
