(Prensa Latina) Spain plans to conduct a thorough investigation of sexual abuses committed by prelates of the Catholic Curch, a highly sensitive issue in a rather devout society.
An agreement in principle between the left-wing government headed by Pedro Sanchez and the leadership of the Spanish Episcopal Conference opened the way for the investigations, which are to be carried out discreetly and, as far as possible, away from the media spotlight.
However, it will be a difficult issue that will clearly arouse passions within society and dissatisfaction due to the delay in undertaking a process that other countries have been carrying out for some time.
The first divergent point ocurred in the last hours with the propposal of the government of placing ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, to lead the Commisssion of Inquiry, after having been a friar in the Sacred Heart congregation, before entering into politics The sopkesman for the Socialist Group in Congress, Héctor Gómez, described the citicism as nonsense.
The Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE, in Spanish), majority in the coalition administration registered this Monday a non-law proposal to the Lower House, in which it requested Gabilondo to be at the head of the investigation about the Church´s abuses and to elaborate a report with the support of an independent advisory commission.
Juan Cuatrecasas, a victim of Opus Dei abuse at the Gaztelueta school in Bizkaia, said that it is good news that this issue is beginning to be dealt with in state bodies, such as the Congress or the Prosecutor’s Office, “but for the moment it is no more than a mere rapprochement, and rapprochement alone is not enough”.
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