200,000 minors may have been sexually abused in Spain by the Roman Catholic clergy since 1940, according to an estimate by an independent commission published Friday.
The report did not give a specific figure but said a poll of over 8,000 people found that 0.6 percent of Spain’s adult population of around 39 million people said they had suffered sexual abuse by members of the clergy when they were still children, according to an AFP report FRANCE 24.
The percentage rises to 1.13 percent — or over 400,000 people — when including abuse by lay members, Spain’s national ombudsman Angel Gabilondo told a news conference called to present the findings of the report.
The revelations in Spain are the latest to rock the Roman Catholic Church after a series of sexual abuse scandals around the world, often involving children, over the past 20 years.
But unlike in other nations, in Spain — a traditionally Catholic country that has become highly secular — clerical abuse allegations are only now gaining traction, leading to accusations by survivors of stonewalling.
“We acknowledge the harm caused,” said Jose Gabriel Vera, the spokesman for the Spanish Bishops’ Conference. “We want to help all victims…to accompany them in their healing.”
The issue came under a spotlight in Spain in 2021 after El Pais newspaper reported more than 1,200 alleged cases, years after sexual abuse scandals had rocked the Church in countries such as the U.S., Ireland and France.
Several inquiries have been launched, including one led by the country’s ombudsman, and the Church’s own internal investigation.
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