Spain's report on Catholic Church sex abuse estimates victims could number in hundreds of thousands

CTV News – October 27, 2023 (photo credit Jesus Hellin/Europa Press via AP)


MADRID -Spain's first official probe of sex abuse by clergy members or other people connected to the Catholic Church in the country included a survey that indicated that the number of victims could run into hundreds of thousands.The survey was part of a damning report by the office of Spain's ombudsman, or "defensor del pueblo," following an 18-month independent investigation of 487 cases involving alleged victims who spoke with the ombudsman's team. Ombudsman Angel Gabilondo criticized the church's response to sex abuse scandals, saying it had often been to minimize if not deny the problem. He presented the nearly 800-page report to the speaker of the Spanish parliament's lower house Friday and then to reporters.


Read the Full Article
By Patricia Grell June 4, 2025
Bishop Accountability - May 30, 2025 Winnipeg, MB - In May 2025, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation published a list of over 100 Oblate priests and brothers who worked in Canadian residential schools. The list aims to support transparency, accountability, and healing for Indigenous communities. These schools, many run by the Oblates, were part of a system that forcibly assimilated Indigenous children and led to widespread abuse. The release helps centralize scattered records and acknowledges the Church’s role in this dark chapter of Canadian history. 
June 4, 2025
The Eastern Graphic - May 28, 2025 Georgetown, ON - A retired Catholic priest appeared in Georgetown Provincial Court on Thursday facing three sex-related charges stemming from the late 1980s against a minor. The 79-year-old man is charged with sexual touching of a person under 14 and sexual assault. He was also charged under Section 159 of the Criminal Code, which prohibited anal intercourse except between a husband and wife or people over the age of 18. That section has since been repealed but was in effect at the time.
More Posts