The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, was a religious and teacher between 1966 and 1979 in two centers of the Sacred Heart, in Vitoria and Madrid. Former students from that time in both schools have denounced other classmates for alleged abuse, which raised doubts about their suitability to lead an investigation into child abuse in the Church. Doubts would evaporate yesterday with the forcefulness of the work he presented to Congress, which occupies 777 pages (which can be read on our website).
It is not only about the spectacular figures, which venture that in the recent history of Spain there may be more than 400,000 victims of abuse by religious, but about the reproaches and explicit accusations against the ecclesiastical hierarchy, which has offered, he said, a "disparate collaboration". The institution has addressed the 71 Spanish bishops. Some, as he explained, have responded evasively (the dean of the Court of La Rota did not even answer). "Others have scolded us for messing with this, although we, the truth, don't let ourselves be scolded very much." And there have been others who have responded well, "which indicates that things can and should be done correctly".
Never before had a body as important as the Ombudsman denounced "continuous malpractice" so harshly. which one "For years the Church hid and covered up these behaviours, with the transfer of the guilty to other countries or parishes".
First, the victims. Second, the victims. And finally, the victims. This could be the summary of 777 folios that insist on the "devastating impact of abuse" and the revictimization suffered by the abused during years of silence, neglect and indifference. This situation, says Ángel Gabilondo, cannot be prolonged for one more second. The Church, he insisted, is obliged to collaborate, both in the investigation and in the recovery of the harm caused.
Nothing "would hurt her more than to keep quiet because today the biggest scandal would be not to collaborate". And, despite everything, the final number of those affected by this scourge will never be known, among other things, "due to the inaccessibility of some files". And for the death or "voluntary silence" of some victims, which of course must be respected.
Where do the figures of 400,000 or 440,000 affected by sexual abuse in the Church come from? From the extrapolation of a survey. The Ombudsman commissioned the demographic firm GAD3 to conduct a survey of 8,000 people over the age of 18. 11.7% acknowledged that they had suffered sexual abuse before they were of legal age, but did not specify who or which people had been responsible. 3.36% experienced abuse in "the family sphere", and 1.13%, "in the religious sphere". Of the latter, 0.6% said they had been victims of "a priest or a religious".
"I'm also from Lletres", said the Ombudsman in the only ironic moment he allowed himself in his entire appearance, when journalists asked him about the equivalence of 0.6%. Another percentage, that of the "religious sphere" and its 1.13%, which also includes lay people and lay staff of the Church, had drawn his attention more.
What is indisputable is that it is a "very significant" percentage. Most of the registered cases took place between the seventies and nineties, although some date back to Spain in 1940. Numbers and percentages, however, do not illustrate the real dimension of the problem or "the suffering and loneliness of the victims". This helplessness is aggravated "by an unjust silence, that of those who could have done more and did not".
In many cases, the responses received by those affected have been "insufficient and dilatory". They have rarely been adequately served and have been excluded from "the procedures of canon law". The recent steps taken by the Episcopal Conference are progress, "but still insufficient".
Those who expected the Ombudsman to give an exact figure were disappointed. Gabilondo, of course, explained paradoxical situations. His collaborators addressed all the dioceses and congregations. "They gave us figures that, added up, gave 1,430 victims. But then we went to the Episcopal Conference, which, using the same sources, counted about 400 fewer victims."
A total of 487 people (84%, men) have gone to the victim care units authorized by the Ombudsman. Does this mean that these 487 people are all there are?, asked the witness rhetorically to add: "Absolutely!". The report (“We are not judges nor legislators”) does not say what needs to be done, but it does give advice and point the way.
One of the main recommendations is to create a state compensation fund for victims, a wish that seems complicated if you take into account recent events: the central government, for example, approved a year ago a fund to compensate those affected by the especially in Spain, who still haven't seen a penny and don't even know when the aid will start.
To prevent this from happening again, Ángel Gabilondo (some feared that his past as a religious would make his hand tremble when pointing out those responsible) demands the financial involvement of the Church. The Ombudsman insisted that "the victims are the first, last and central meaning of this report". And compensation is not enough. A public act of apology is needed and prevention against abuse must be strengthened. The subtitle of 777 folios that will mark a before and an after could not be more revealing: "A necessary answer".
