Spanish bishops finalize comprehensive plan to provide redress to abuse victims

The Standing Commission of the Spanish Episcopal Conference met in early July. After the sessions, the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference, Francisco César García Magán, appeared before the media to report on the work carried out.

The first topic addressed by the Secretary General during the meeting was the press conference on the approval by the Permanent Commission of the “Plan of Comprehensive Reparation for Victims of Sexual Abuse of Minors and Persons with Similar Rights (PRIVA)”. This is, as García Magán said, “a plan of action in cases where it is not possible to have recourse to legal recourse, neither civil nor canonical”, but which also seeks “full redress for victims”.

This plan, which will aim to obtain the approval of all the Spanish bishops at the Extraordinary Plenary Assembly convened for July 9, was carried out in dialogue with the Secretary General of the Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER). Likewise, the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference assures that they have had meetings with victims and have maintained dialogue with the Spanish government. However, when asked by journalists, García Magán explained that they would not explain to what extent the contact with victims has affected PRIVA.

Responding to victims of abuse

Although the PRIVA document has not yet been published, they said at a press conference that it “establishes criteria for the evaluation and application of the plan.” The cases it primarily targets are those “where the perpetrator has died or the case has become time-barred, in order to offer appropriate redress that meets the requirements of each specific case.”

As Monsignor García Magán explained, the aim is to allow authentic accompaniment to the victims so that they receive spiritual, medical and psychological assistance and economic compensation.

The Secretary-General also announced that the document did not provide the number of victims because he believed that “what is important is to give the answer, not the number.”

Seminaries, the Council of Nicaea, and the Supernatural

Another topic addressed by the Standing Commission was the “draft Plan for the application of the criteria for the reform of seminaries in Spain”. Following the contributions made in recent days, the document will be presented for examination during the Plenary Assembly, which will be held in November.

On the other hand, the president of the Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith proposed to the Standing Commission “to draw up a Declaration on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. According to the explanations given at the press conference, such a Declaration would take place during an “ecumenical celebration based on the Creed.”

The same Episcopal Commission also worked on the question of the role that the Episcopal Conference would play “in the process of discerning supernatural phenomena and revelations in the light of the Vatican’s document on the subject.

Key events in 2025

Monsignor García Magán also stressed during the press conference that the Episcopal Conference is working on two important events that will take place in 2025. On the one hand, these are the activities that the Spanish Church is preparing for the Jubilee; on the other hand, it is the National Vocation Congress that will take place next year in Madrid from 7 to 9 February.

Other issues and error in press release

Finally, the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference mentioned that the Standing Commission had approved the calendar for 2025. As events to be highlighted, the bishops will hold their retreats from 12 to 18 January; the Plenary Assemblies will be held from 31 March to 4 April and from 17 to 21 November; finally, the Standing Commission will hold its work meetings on 25 and 26 February, 17 and 18 June, and 30 September and 1 October.

García Magán used his intervention to point out that there was an error in the press release sent to journalists. The bishops had carried out “an internal reflection on the document ‘Fiducia supplicans'” but that it was not planned to “publish any document” on the matter, contrary to what the note indicated.

The Belorado Case and the Migration Crisis

In response to questions raised after his intervention, the Secretary General indicated that “officially there was no talk of Belorado”, referring to the excommunication of the Poor Clares of Burgos. Nevertheless, García Magán described the case as “a painful and very regrettable matter”, while praising the work of the Archbishop of Burgos, who stands out for his “clarity, mercy and patience”.

In another order of things, the Secretary spoke briefly about the migration crisis in the Canary Islands and the note of the bishops of the islands, supported by the Episcopal Conference. In this sense, he declared that the episcopate rejects the “ideological and political exploitation of the migration crisis” and described the work of helping immigrants as a defense of life in its entirety.

Nominations and Renewals

At the end of his speech, the Secretary-General mentioned some of the appointments and renewals that took place during the meeting of the Standing Committee.

Among the nominations were: the national counselor of the “Cursillos de Cristiandad” movement, Bishop of Alcalá de Henares, Monsignor Antonio Prieto, and the spiritual director of the association “Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Spain”, Father Francisco Javier Ramírez de Nicolás.

On the other hand, the positions of José Gabriel Vera as director of the secretariat of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications and Manuel Bretón as president of Caritas Española were renewed.