No fixed compensation for victims of pedophilia: this is the agreement between the Church and the State

MadridThe Spanish government, the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), and the Spanish Confederation of Religious have signed this Monday, at the Ombudsman's office, the protocol to compensate victims of sexual abuse and pederasty. It is the system to recognize and repair individuals for whom the judicial route is no longer possible and which had been pending detailed since early January, when a more generic pact was reached to implement it. Finally, no indicative compensation figure has been included in the text. "We wanted to exclude the reference to scales and economic amounts. All entities have agreed on this," assured Luis Argüello, president of the CEE at a press conference after the signing, in which he stressed that it is a matter that goes beyond money. According to the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, it is positive for the victims that there is no "minimum and maximum threshold" because it implies that compensation is not limited. "It is good news that it is studied case by case," he added.

Applications can be submitted from April 15 and the Ombudsman will have the final say on the resolution of proceedings, in case of disagreement between the parties. With the culmination of this protocol, reparation to victims of cases judicially prescribed or in which the perpetrator of the abuse is deceased, ceases to be solely in the hands of the Church, as had been the case until now with the system created by the Episcopal Conference in July 2024, known as PRIVA. "This plan had an original sin, which is that the Church had the final word, and that made many victims lose confidence," remarked Bolaños, who celebrated the launch of a "mixed model" that places the final decision on what the Church should do or pay in the hands of the State. "Comprehensive reparation is guaranteed, which in most cases will surely be economic," the minister affirmed.

Victims who have already been recognized through the PRIVA plan may reapply for compensation with the new mechanism, although the previously agreed reparation will be taken into account to avoid "duplication". What criteria will be assessed to set the amounts of financial compensation? "The severity of the abuses suffered, taking into account their nature, the violence exerted, the age of the victim, the duration of the abuses, and the relationship between victim and perpetrator," establishes the protocol, which also foresees evaluating the "damage to dignity, pain, suffering and emotional distress, and the physical, psychological, social, and family consequences they have caused, including the loss of educational, labor, or social benefit opportunities." The reparation may also be "symbolic," "restorative," or "spiritual."

Phases of the procedure

Victims wishing to apply for compensation have one year to do so from its launch in mid-April, although the parties have left the door open to extend the protocol for another year because they do not know if it can be fully resolved within this time. The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, has acknowledged that they do not have a forecast of how many cases they might encounter. Victims who decide to avail themselves of the procedure must submit a form to the Ministry of the Presidency and Justice, which will forward it to the Ombudsman's victim unit. "It is not a simple procedure [...] it is a flexible, personalized, professional and humane procedure," guaranteed Gabilondo, who assured that the team in charge will be "very careful." "We have seen the pain it causes, it is no laughing matter to see sixty-year-old people turned back into children. We will not play with the idea of making them go through this again, but we must listen to them and make an assessment," he said.

The Ombudsman's unit will have three months to make a proposal once the request is received. It will be forwarded to the PRIVA advisory commission, of the Church, which will have a maximum of two months to evaluate it. Once this has been done, both responses will be communicated to the victim so that, within fifteen days, they can indicate whether they agree or, conversely, present objections. If there is no agreement, a new period of fifteen days will open for the Ombudsman to convene a joint commission —formed by nine members appointed by the ministry, the Ombudsman, the Episcopal Conference and that of Religious, as well as victim representatives— to try to reach a consensual agreement within one month. If an agreement is not reached, the Ombudsman will impose their criterion. "I will work to ensure the maximum possible consensus and I hope it will not be necessary to discern in the last instance, but if necessary, we will exercise our responsibility with complete naturalness," Gabilondo stressed.