New Reparation System Established after Spain Reaches Abuse Accord with Church

A specialized justice ministry agency will process claims after the Spanish government and the Catholic Church signed a landmark agreement to compensate victims of sexual abuse. Justice Minister Félix Bolaños joined Episcopal Conference president Luis Argüello and Jesús Díaz Sariego of Confer to finalize the deal, which notably covers cases where the statute of limitations has expired.Under the new framework, the ombudsman's office will propose symbolic or economic reparations that the Church must approve, drawing on models used in countries like Ireland and Belgium.The agreement seeks to address a moral debt to an estimated 440,000 victims despite the Church previously contesting the scale of abuse documented by independent investigations.