Her research Spanish Catholic Church For sexual abuse of children by the clergy and lay people who have worked for her have so far led to the identification of 728 alleged rapists and 927 victims since the 1940s, according to her first case report.

“We acknowledge the damage done,” said José Gabriel Vera, spokesman for the Spanish Archbishops’ Conference. “We want to help all those affected… help them heal their wounds.”

The problem came to the fore in Spain in 2021, after El Pais reported more than 1,200 reported cases, years after sexual abuse scandals rocked the Church in countries such as the US, Ireland and France.

Many investigations have been launched, including by the Ombudsman in Spain, while The church itself conducted its own internal investigation.

“We want to know what went wrong with the selection of candidates for the priesthood, what went wrong with their training … and what led a person who decided to devote himself to God to sexual abuse,” Vera said.

The report, which includes victim testimony and is not evidence of guilt or innocence, it is reported that more than 99% of the suspects were male and that half of the rapists were clergy. Most reported cases occurred in the 1960s–1980s.

According to the mostly male victims, more than 63% of reported rapists have died.

According to APE-MPE and Reuters