Bishops in Spain ask lawyers to audit their sex abuse record
ABC News
Spain's Roman Catholic bishops have asked a private law firm to investigate past and present sexual abuse committed by clergy, members of religious orders and others associated with the church
MADRID -- A Madrid-based law firm will conduct a year-long inquiry into past and present sexual abuse committed by Spain's Roman Catholic clergy. members of religious orders, teachers and other people associated with the church, the firm and the head of the country's bishops' conference said Tuesday.
The announcement, made before dozens of cameras and reporters, marked a departure from the previous position of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, which for years rejected the idea of taking a comprehensive approach to investigating sex abuse.
Cardinal Juan José Omella, the conference's president, said the goal of the inquiry by law firm Cremades & Calvo Sotelo “is the help and reparation of the victims, establishing new and additional channels to collaborate and denounce in addition to those existing in over 40 offices established by the Church.”
The inquiry is intended to cover all abuse and is not limited to investigating only cases from within a certain time period, according to Javier Cremades, the law firm's founder. It is also meant to complement separate initiatives launched by Spanish authorities, he and Omella said.
