Paradarluz The Church's work in Spain for the promotion and protection of human rights is gathered in a single web portal. child protection and abuse prevention and is also intended to be a means of facilitating contact with the offices that have been set up in dioceses, religious congregations and other ecclesial institutions.
The president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Juan José Omella, highlights in the letter of presentation of this portal that the work carried out by the Spanish Church in the field of eliminating these abuses and "to accompany and welcome those who have suffered most directly. We have done a lot, and you can see it on this website, but it is not enough. It is never enough in the face of suffering. That is why we open this virtual space in which the whole society will be able to know the decisions taken and those we are willing to take, besides making available to everyone the contacts with the offices from which to help those who want to denounce".
Diocesan and congregational offices
Paradarluz shows and reports on the 202 offices (60 diocesan and 142 of congregations) that, throughout Spain, have been opened with the aim of being a channel for receiving complaints of abuse committed in the past. These offices are also responsible for establishing protocols for action and training for the protection of minors and the prevention of abuse.
It also highlights the work that the Church has been carrying out in common processes for the protection of minors, protocols for educational centers and training for teachers and students for the detection and prevention of child abuse.
In addition, it highlights and reports on the independent audit commissioned by the Spanish bishops to the law firm Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo regarding the reports and investigations carried out on the cases of child abuse committed by some members of the Church.
The road traveled
The new portal also performs a historical tour of the steps taken in this task of abuse prevention and restorative justice.
A path that began in 2010 with the first protocols of action in relation to these cases and that has been improving over the years with the updating of the legal norms relating to these crimes in Canon Law as well as the emanation, by the Holy See, of expensive and common norms for the treatment of these cases.
In addition to these, diocesan offices have been set up for this purpose and independent investigations are being carried out in many countries into abuses committed within the Church.
Various documentation
The portal also has the ability to easily file a possible report of a crime of abuse within the Church, through direct contact with the offices created for this purpose.
It also contains an extensive bibliographical list of documents on these crimes, protocols and vademecums created by dioceses and religious institutions as well as press materials.
