No investigation has been carried out so far to assess the extent of these facts in the Spanish Catholic Church, which recognizes only 220 cases since 2001.
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While in France, the Sauvé report has lifted part of the veil on the facts of pedocrime in the Catholic Church, the Spanish religious authorities continue to refuse any investigation. This is why the Socialist Party in power demanded in Parliament the creation of an independent commission of experts on Monday 7 February.
This committee would be formed “of experts, representatives of victims’ associations, the clergy, public administration”, explained to the press the president of the socialist group in the chamber of deputies, Héctor Gómez. The project leaders want“[s’]attack in the most rigorous way, but also in the most empathetic and fairest way possible, to a subject that our country can no longer ignore”said Carmen Calvo, former number two in the left-wing government.
The sexual violence committed against minors by Catholic clerics has not yet been the subject of any major official investigation in Spain, unlike other countries such as the United States, France, Spain. Germany, Ireland or Australia. The Church has only recognized 220 cases since 2001, but the Spanish daily El Paíswhich launched its own investigation in 2018, says it has identified 1,246 victims since the 1930s. The Chamber of Deputies has already agreed to examine a request for a parliamentary inquiry into the subject, at the request of the radical left party Podemos, a partner of the Socialists.