“This step adds transparency, technical rigor and legal consistency when dealing with a drama that is very painful for the Church, and for this reason I reiterate our humble request for forgiveness for each case, and I want to underline once again that the victims are our absolute priority,” Cardinal Omella said.
The head of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference also stressed that “the Church has the opportunity to work towards these abuses not being repeated and to uncover this new form of global slavery which people would rather not address.”
“It’s a new slavery that affects all of society which we are becoming aware of and in which, unfortunately, some members of the Church have also taken part in,” he emphasized.
Last month the Spanish parliament overwhelmingly approved the creation of an independent commission to investigate alleged sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, assigning the country’s ombudsman to lead the investigation.
Additionally, Spain’s Attorney General Dolores Delgado has requested that the 17 head prosecutors of the country’s autonomous regional governments remit all open criminal proceedings for sexual abuse committed by members of the Church and other religious groups.
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