One day after the publication of the second edition of the study To Give Light On cases of sexual abuse by members of the Church in Spain, the Prelature of Opus Dei in this country has published a note in which it reports on the cases related to members of Opus Dei that have been investigated.
These data, as the note points out, were transferred at the time "to the Ombudsman and to the audit commissioned by the Episcopal Conference".
The note records seven cases of sexual abuse involving members of the Prelature: four involving priests and three involving lay people. The time frame of this investigation has been shorter, evidently, since Opus Dei has not yet reached the centenary of its existence.
Together with the data on the cases, in which the confidentiality of the persons involved has been kept confidential, the Work has asked "forgiveness to all the victims who have suffered abuse in our environment, and especially to those whom we have not been able to welcome and care for in an adequate manner" and has stressed the willingness to accompany them and their families in "their pain and suffering".
Cases under civil statute of limitations and cases in canonical proceedings
Of the four cases involving Opus Dei priests, three of them were civilly time-barred, so that, according to the Prelature's statement, "they were only considered in the canonical sphere. In the first case, the ecclesiastical tribunal condemned the priest, who was dismissed from the clerical state. In the second case, the canonical cause was archived due to the death of the priest. In the third case, the canonical process is ongoing. In the fourth case, the court agreed to dismiss and file the case, finding no evidence of a crime. It was also canonically archived".
With regard to the proceedings concerning lay people, two complaints have been brought to the attention of the public prosecutor's office and are in progress. The third process refers to the well-known Martínez-Cuatrecasas case, sentenced to two years in prison and reopened in the canonical sphere in 2022.
The Opus Dei note also refers to other possible cases involving lay people that have been reported by the newspaper El País. With respect to these three, "one of them does not fall within the scope of the protocol, because the alleged victimizer has never belonged to the Prelature. In the other two cases, the complainants have not contacted the Prelature to date, so it has not been possible to initiate any action". In relation to these last possible cases, the Prelature has not been able to initiate any action. Opus Dei reiterate their willingness to assist you.
Priests of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross
One of the points clarified in the communiqué is that the eventual cases that refer to priests of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross incardinated in the dioceses "are sent from the corresponding bishopric, since both the canonical investigation and the preventive or disciplinary measures correspond to the ordinary of their respective dioceses", so that, if there are any cases, these would be part of the data collected and investigated by the existing Offices in all the Spanish dioceses for this purpose.
