The Victims Unit of the Ombudsman has been established with a team of sixteen experts in charge of evaluating applications and proposing the recognition and reparation for victims of sexual abuse within the Church. The measure is framed within the system agreed upon between the Government, the Catholic Church, and the institution itself, which has begun to operate in recent days.
A team of experts to evaluate each case
As reported by the Defensor del Pueblo on April 17, the unit is made up of independent professionals specialized in victimology, psychology, criminology, and various branches of Law. Its function will be to analyze each application individually and prepare a proposal on the recognition of victim status and possible reparation measures.
At the head of this structure is Antonio Mora Lladó, along with a multidisciplinary team made up of jurists, forensic psychologists, and experts in criminal policy.
Development of the protocol between the Government, the Church, and the Ombudsman
The creation of this unit responds to the protocol signed on March 30 between the Government, the Spanish Episcopal Conference, CONFER, and the Ombudsman, which establishes a common system to address reparation for victims of abuse in the ecclesiastical sphere.
The agreement specifies the procedures and deadlines of the system, which began operating on April 15, and contemplates different types of reparation: symbolic, restorative, and economic, depending on the damage suffered and the circumstances of each case.
A system with several evaluation instances
The model includes different levels of intervention. The Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes has set up a Processing Unit in charge of receiving applications and managing communication between the parties.
For its part, the Victims Unit of the Ombudsman will carry out the technical evaluation of each case. Subsequently, the Spanish Episcopal Conference and CONFER will issue a report through the PRIVA Advisory Commission.
In cases where there is no agreement, a Joint Commission with representation from the involved institutions and victims’ associations will intervene, with the aim of reaching a resolution.