The Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) signed on March 30, along with the Ministry of the Presidency and the Ombudsman, the protocol that develops the agreement reached in January to establish a system for the recognition and reparation of victims of sexual abuse within the Church. The mechanism, which will come into effect on April 15, is aimed at those cases that could not be tried due to the statute of limitations or the death of the aggressor.
A mixed system with state intervention
The protocol —available at the CEE link— establishes a mixed system that integrates the Church’s own plan —the Integral Reparation Plan for Victims of Abuse (PRIVA), approved in 2024— with the participation of public institutions. In this new scheme, the Ombudsman assumes a central role by handling the evaluation of cases through an independent unit of experts.
The applications will be received by a unit dependent on the Ministry of the Presidency, after which the Ombudsman will prepare a proposal for recognition and reparation. This will be reviewed by the PRIVA advisory commission and, in case of disagreement, it will be escalated to a mixed commission with representatives from the State, the Church, and the victims. If no consensus is reached, the final decision will correspond to the Ombudsman.
Reparations without scales and on a voluntary basis
The system contemplates symbolic reparation measures, accompaniment for victims, and economic compensations for the damage suffered. However, the protocol does not establish scales or fixed amounts, as the indemnities will be determined on an individualized basis depending on each case.
The signed document itself emphasizes that this mechanism does not have legally binding force: the decisions adopted do not constitute administrative acts nor can they be appealed, and the system is based on the voluntary agreement between the parties. Likewise, the State does not assume direct responsibility for the reparations, which will correspond to the ecclesiastical entities.
A temporary system limited to prescribed cases
The new reparation pathway will have an initial duration of one year, extendable for another, and will apply exclusively to victims whose cases cannot be brought to the criminal route. Additionally, the protocol establishes that this pathway is incompatible with PRIVA, so victims must choose one or the other procedure.
Argüello defends the complementary nature of the agreement
During the signing of the protocol, the president of the CEE, Luis Argüello, has framed this step within the process initiated by the Church in recent years and has insisted that the new system does not replace PRIVA, but complements it. In this sense, he has pointed out that the agreement also responds to the lack of trust from some victims in the ecclesiastical channels: “This step has been necessary because some of the abuse victims have not trusted the dioceses or religious congregations.”
Argüello has emphasized that the objective is not to set economic amounts, but to advance towards an integral reparation of each case: “It is not about establishing amounts or ranges, but a proposal for integral reparation.” Likewise, he has defended the importance of accompaniment and personalized attention, highlighting that the damage caused in these cases cannot be reduced solely to an economic compensation.