The 123rd Plenary Assembly of the Spanish bishops has published a letter addressed to all the people of God on sexual abuse committed within the Church.

Under the title "Sent to welcome, heal and rebuild", the bishops reiterate their request for forgiveness to the victims and commit themselves "to be transparent in this process and accountable to the victims, the Church and God" and make reference to the implementation of a plan to integral reparation.

Full text of the letter "Sent to welcome, heal and rebuild".

You are the light of the world (Mt 5:14).. To the people of God and to Spanish society, in the face of the drama of abuse, we, the bishops of the Plenary Assembly, aware that we have been sent to welcome and heal the victims of this social scourge, humbly offer the following considerations.

1. Grief, shame and request for forgiveness.

The abuse of minors has filled us with sadness. As on other occasions, we want to express unequivocally the pain, shame and sorrow that this reality, which betrays the message of the Gospel, causes in us. In no way do we intend to look for excuses or justifications to avoid any responsibility that may correspond to us as a Church.

At the same time, we reiterate our most sincere request for forgiveness to all those who have suffered because of these execrable actions, especially to the victims and their families. We also ask God's forgiveness, in which, as Christians, we have not been faithful. The suffering has been caused not only by the abuses but also by the way in which, at times, they have been dealt with. There are not enough words to express how sorry we are for the pain of the victims, as well as for the betrayal committed by some members of our communities. These acts, which are not only sins but also crimes, are incompatible with the fundamental values of our faith in Christ, for they contradict the love, compassion and respect that He teaches us and gives us the strength to live. They are also a call to a profound personal and communal conversion.

Above all other considerations, we commit ourselves to be transparent in this process and to be accountable to the victims, to the Church and to God. Our brothers, priests, religious and lay people, betraying the trust they had received and the mission entrusted to them, were abusing those persons, minors or vulnerable, who had been entrusted to them for their protection, education or care.

2. The action of the Church: attention to victims.

Many of us have met the victims of these abuses. We have known their face, their story, their name. We want to take on their pain incarnate. We have asked for their forgiveness, we do so now and we will always do so. To ask for forgiveness is to recognize our limitations, our poverty, our weakness, our lack of courage. We know that the damage and pain caused are indelible, but to ask for forgiveness and to forgive is the first step to heal the wounds.

First and foremost, we can assure you that we continue the commitment to take concrete and effective measures to prevent future abuse in our Church that we began in 2001. We are constantly, and for some time now, reviewing all of our security and training protocols, as well as working closely with civil authorities to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are brought to justice.

- Welcoming and reparation. - In relation to the victims, for their reception and accompaniment, offices for the protection of minors have been created in all dioceses and religious institutions and studies have been carried out in order to know the dimension of the problem. We encourage anyone who has suffered abuse to approach these offices to initiate processes of reparation and healing. We are fully prepared to listen, support, repair and offer the help they need to heal the wounds. Every child protection office is open to listen and welcome that pain.

- Prevention and training. - With the encouragement of Pope Francis, necessary steps have been taken in three directions. In this Episcopal Conference, the Advisory Service to the Diocesan Offices, now fully operational, has held numerous formation meetings to establish a joint work that makes possible an effective accompaniment of the victims. In relation to the rest of the People of God, the Episcopal Conference, the dioceses and the congregations have prepared and promulgated protocols to prevent and detect abuse, and have begun training processes for all those in the Church who work with minors, so that they can help prevent this social scourge. In the juridical sphere, both the motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi as the Vademecum on procedural issues in the face of sexual abuse, promulgated by the Holy See, have been accompanied in Spain by the Instruction on sexual abuseapproved by this Episcopal Conference last April.

- Complaint and action. - The rapid assessment of abuses, which is essential for prompt action, must lead immediately to denunciation in the canonical, civil and criminal spheres. This is the beginning of the judicial action that is essential on the road to reparation.

It is necessary to emphasize that, in the legal context, the determination of whether an act constitutes a crime of abuse and who is responsible for such criminal act corresponds to the judicial authority, as well as the legal measures that may be taken as a consequence.

Nevertheless, conscience, which "is man's most secret core and tabernacle, where he sits alone with God" (GS 16), calls us to recognize those intrinsically evil acts that violate God's law, even if they cannot be appreciated by human justice, and leads us to the urgency of making reparation for them.

3. It is a problem of the Church and of society.

Likewise, we are well aware of the impact that these actions have on the public's perception of the Church. The bishops of Spain consider that cases of abuse are very serious matters that must be dealt with within the legal framework. Unfortunately, they affect all sectors of society. The vast majority of abusers are family members or people close to the victim.

However, in this very important issue, to focus only on the Church is to defocus the problem. The recommendations and measures to be taken should not only be addressed to us, but to society as a whole.

We believe that the way to heal this scourge in the Church and in society is for us to work together to build just, safe and compassionate environments where every person is loved, valued and respected.

Now, gathered in plenary assembly, we bishops have given special value to the testimony gathered from the victims, which allows us to place them at the center.

During this year, four reports on sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable persons in the Church have been published by different entities and media. The Spanish Episcopal Conference, based on the work carried out by the Offices for the Protection of Minors, prepared its own report, "To Give Light", with 728 testimonies collected from the 1940s to the present. But we insist that what is important are the people and not the numbers.

4. Not just words: the comprehensive reparation plan.

We are aware that words are not enough. Our action continues. In this same Plenary Assembly we have worked on the first draft of the plan of integral reparation for the victims of abuse, which has three lines of action that we are already developing and that we are going to promote with all our might:

- attention to the victims through all legal and ecclesiastical channels,

- full reparation, to the extent possible, for the damage caused

- and training for the prevention of such abuses in the future.

We have decided to continue working on this plan, approve its itinerary after the necessary revisions and ratify it at the next Plenary Assembly.

5. The valuable service of the People of God.

Lay people, missionaries, consecrated persons, deacons, priests and bishops, beyond our limitations and frailties, we give ourselves every day, helping, accompanying, consoling and fulfilling a very difficult mission that is not always recognized in our times.

It is not just to attribute to all the evil caused by some. We are aware that this path of reparation is indispensable and, at the same time, we believe that it can also help to heal the wound inflicted on the People of God. We must also remember all those among us who make us proud of our faith: priests who bring Jesus into every heart; consecrated men and women who dedicate themselves to education and assistance; consecrated women who care for the poorest and most needy with their whole life; missionaries in every country of the world making the Gospel visible; lay people who give themselves as catechists or volunteers; monks and nuns who support us with their prayer and all those who live their Christian life in the midst of ordinary concerns.

6. Hopeful.

Our commitment to eradicate sexual abuse is also a service to the society in which we live. We humbly offer our sad and painful experience to help any other institution to fight against this scourge.

We want to look to the future with hope. Once again, we reiterate that our struggle against all kinds of abuses must continue unceasingly. And, at the same time, we wish to show our deep gratitude and appreciation to the priests and consecrated persons of our Church, encouraging them to live with enthusiasm and hope the treasure of the ministry entrusted to them (cf. 2 Cor 4:7). We take this opportunity to appeal to the Catholic faithful to accompany, encourage and support them in their daily dedication.

Together with the People of God, we turn to Christ, the foundation of all hope, who promised us that he would be with us until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). May he, the Good Shepherd, help us beyond the dark glens, to walk the path of healing, reconciliation and renewal, accompanied by the motherly love of Mary.

We ask your prayers for the victims and their families, as well as for all members of our Church.

The Secretary General and spokesman of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Francisco César García Magán has been in charge of communicating to the media the results of the work of the 123rd Plenary Assembly of the Spanish Bishops, which took place in Madrid from November 20 to 24. 

The management and development of the various investigations into sexual abuse committed in the Church has focused part of the reflections and work of the Spanish bishops during these days.

In this field, both a letter to the People of God in Spain, on this topic, approved unanimously, and the approval of a work process to structure and develop a plan for the integral reparation of victims of abuse, are framed in this field.

Letter to the people of God for the abuses 

The Plenary Assembly has given the green light to a letter to all the faithful which deals specifically with the problem of sexual abuse committed within the Church.

The missive, which is addressed especially to the victims, is centered above all on the request for forgiveness to the victims, as the secretary general of the Spanish bishops wanted to emphasize, and also "a word of hope to the rest of the people of God". 

In addition, this letter announces the comprehensive reparation plan for the victims that will be developed by the Spanish Episcopal Conference. 

Repair plan

The spokesman for the Spanish bishops pointed out that what has been approved at this Plenary is the work plan, although he was able to advance three lines of action that include the iter The work presented by the Coordination and Counseling Service of the Diocesan Offices for the Protection of Minors: attention to victims and prevention and integral reparation, from all perspectives, psychological, social and economic.

In this sense, he pointed out that "we cannot talk about specific dates, since we have to meet certain statutory requirements", although he wants to get it up and running as soon as possible.

The bishops' spokesman has been asked several times about the possibility of establishing an economic fund to face the compensation to the victims. Magán pointed out that, in this type of cases, the economic compensation to each victim "has to be paid by the victimizer or, if he has died, by the institution involved. In principle, not the Episcopal Conference". 

Other Plenary Assembly topics

In addition to the abuses, the bishops have approved different projects in these days such as the "Project in favor of the dignity of the person". This initiative aims to address various problems affecting life, the dignity of the person, the family and society. Among the issues to be addressed, the bishops highlight the growing consumption of pornography among young people through the Internet, the trivialization of sexuality, the use of prostitution and sexual exploitation, mental health, or addictions.

The Compliance system for the Spanish Episcopal Conference has also been approved, a manual of regulatory compliance and best practices adapted to the nature and identity of the EEC. 

In addition, as stated in the summary of these days, the constitution of the Table of Interfaith Dialogue in Spain between the Catholic Church and the different Christian denominations is also being studied.

On the other hand, the bishops have approved the list of three candidates to be presented to the Dicastery for Evangelization for the appointment of the director The national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, since the first five-year term of the current director will come to an end next December, José María Calderón.

The Assembly dealt with various follow-up matters. It also received information on the current status of Apse (TRECE and COPE) and the PMO.

Congresses and meetings

In the coming months, various meetings are planned, promoted by different areas of the EEC, which the bishops have also spoken about in these days.

Among them, the Congress "The Church in Education" to be held in Madrid on Saturday, February 24, 2024, the National Meeting on the First Announcement, to be held from February 16 to 18 in Madrid or the National Congress on Vocations planned for the first half of 2025 with "the aim of raising awareness throughout the Church and society about life as a vocation".

The president of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications, Bishop José Manuel Lorca Planes, and the president of the Episcopal Commission for the Liturgy, Bishop José Leonardo Lemos, shared a briefing focused on the guidelines that both commissions have jointly developed to "help and advise" on the retransmission of the Eucharist and other liturgical or "paraliturgical" celebrations, both in the general media and through various social platforms. 

The document recommends that special care be taken with these broadcasts to avoid confusing the faithful. 

The president of the Episcopal Commission for the Liturgy wanted to point out that these are "guidelines for all those who bring the celebrations closer to those who cannot physically attend".

Bishop Lemos stressed that "we want people to take into account what is being offered: the Mystery of Redemption and to whom it is offered: to specific recipients, especially the sick, the elderly and caregivers".

At this point, the bishops once again recalled that following Mass through the media is not a substitute for attending Sunday Mass if one does not have a serious impediment. 

Among some of the guidelines included in this document, it is established, for example, that the celebrations should be held from a holy place: temple or chapel, and that the priest celebrant, the acolytes and the faithful people physically present, "should be aware that the celebration is being retransmitted".

Lemos called for "care to be taken in the development of the liturgy, the readings, etc., as well as in the realization and retransmission of the celebration. In this sense, the celebrant "must know that he is addressing both the present and the virtual community. 

In addition, the document advises that, once the Eucharistic celebration has been broadcast, the video should be deleted "so as not to give rise to misunderstandings". The Eucharistic celebration is lived in spiritual communion with a real community that gathers at a certain time and place. "We do not 'save' the video of the Mass to watch it later," said Msgr. Lemos, although he pointed out that certain moments of the celebration of the Holy Mass, such as the homily, "can be recorded as spiritual nourishment for the faithful. 

Another piece of advice is that priests who carry out this type of retransmissions should inform the Episcopal Media Delegation of their corresponding bishopric so that the bishop is aware and knows which priest is retransmitting this type of celebrations and how. 

In the words of Bishop Lemos, "it is not a matter of controlling or restricting, but of helping, especially the priests who carry out this type of retransmission, so that they may be worthy and help both the people present physically and virtually". 

The bishops responsible for both commissions emphasized that these guidelines will be published on the CEE website and sent to diocesan priests.

The plenary assembly of the Spanish bishops began on Monday, November 20, with several topics on the table: the socio-political fracture that marks the Spanish social context, the management of abuses in the Church and, in the background, the meeting with Pope Francis on the 28th to discuss the results of the visit to the Spanish seminaries. 

The Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona and President of the Spanish Bishops, Monsignor Juan José Omella opened this Plenary with a speech focused on the challenges facing the Church in Spain at "a time marked by war, polarization and the economic, social and political crisis in our country." In this regard, he referred to "the more than 11 million people in Spain who live in a situation of social exclusion, or the almost 5 million, mostly adolescents and young people, who feel alone." 

Faced with a context that he described as "polarized", the president of the EEC made a call to remain "more united than ever" and stressed that "the world needs us to bear witness to the human and existential gain that comes from looking at reality from the perspective of faith". 

Signs of hope: youth and Synod

The president of the Spanish bishops pointed to the Synod as a sign of hope in the Church and society.

On this point, Omella affirmed that in the Synod "we have made an effort to overcome the temptation to be defensive or imposing, and we have made an effort to listen attentively to the one who speaks, paying special attention to the inner voice and to the motions that the Holy Spirit arouses".

An exercise of unity which, in the words of the Archbishop of Barcelona "is the great sign that the world is waiting for, the necessary condition for the world to welcome the proclamation of Christ carried out by the Church". 

The president of the EEC also mentioned the hope shown in the more than one million young people who participated in the recent World Youth Day in Lisbon.

A sign of hope for which the Archbishop of Barcelona has proposed "to renew our structures so that we are able to welcome these disoriented and thirsty youth in our parishes, movements, schools, universities, hospitals, Caritas centers and other institutions." 

"Educating for sexual responsibility is not abortion."

Education, in particular, the importance of accompanying children and young people and affective and sexual education was also present in the opening speech of this plenary.

Omella pointed to school dropouts, the loss of authority in the classroom and the growing problem of hypersexualization and violence aggravated by the misuse of screens.

On this point, the Archbishop of Barcelona appealed to "not deceive them with substitutes. Happiness in capital letters goes through love and not through pornography, through service and not through waiting for others to do it, through dedication and not through living for oneself, through sincere friendship and not through using people for my own good, through seeking the good of others and not through excluding those who do not think like me, through caring for the most fragile instead of mocking them (bullying) or leaving them alone to die of grief, through discovering one's true vocation and not through choosing according to money. To teach them that one cannot be happy apart from the other. That my happiness grows as the happiness of those around me advances." 

Omella stressed the challenge of affective sexual education of children and adolescents. At this point he stressed the need to "teach them to live everything responsibly, including sexuality. The sexual union between a man and a woman is an act that can be the source of a new life and, therefore, it is necessary to educate young people to act out of love and taking into account whether or not they can take responsibility for their actions, that is, whether or not they can accept a baby with dignity. To educate in responsibility is to know how to say no to having a relationship if one cannot welcome the life that could come. Educating in sexual responsibility is not abortion, but presenting the beautiful relationship between sexuality, love and life. To educate is to learn to know how to wait and, if one has not been able to, to teach to always assume the consequences of one's actions, as happens in all areas of life."

In this challenge, in fact, Omella has framed the congress ".Church in Education"which is scheduled to be held in Madrid on February 24, 2024. 

Condemnation of the extrapolation of sexual abuse data

"In no way do we intend to look for excuses or justifications to avoid any responsibility that may correspond to us as an Institution," continued the president of the Spanish bishops in relation to the management of the Church in Spain in the face of the abuses. 

Omella highlighted the ongoing work of "tightening and revising security and training protocols, as well as working closely with civil authorities to ensure that those responsible for these kinds of acts are brought to justice".

The president of the EEC mentioned the Report presented by the Ombudsman in Spain in which "the Church has collaborated by providing all the information at its disposal" and denounced the unfounded extrapolation of the data made by some media as a result of a survey conducted by GAD3 included in the Report.

"What is the purpose behind this nonsense?" wondered Omella who stressed that "it is especially worrying for us that this has generated a damaging image of our mission in general. It is unfair to attribute to them the evil caused by a minority. Such a situation is unacceptable and calls for a thorough and impartial review of the data to correct any bias that may have been maliciously extrapolated. We have reviewed the information on the referred survey provided by the Ombudsman in his report and, frankly, we find it impossible to have confidence in the veracity and reliability of such results."

An injustice in the face of which the president of the Spanish bishops reiterated his "esteem and consideration for the priests and religious of our Church" and made an "appeal to the Catholic faithful, encouraging them to show their appreciation and confidence in them". 

Spain, land of welcome 

The Archbishop of Barcelona recalled in his speech that 1 out of every 5 Spaniards today is of foreign origin. Spain is a land of welcome and "this has transformed Spanish society and, with it, our dioceses, parishes and ecclesial communities," Omella recalled. 

However, the reality of migration in Spain has a harsher face: irregular immigration and, especially, migration by sea, which often becomes a "tragic route that often ends in death, and is a deplorable destination when we are not able to offer humanly acceptable possibilities of reception and subsequent integration". The president of the EEC has described as "short-sighted" the policies of the Spanish and European public administrations in the face of the migratory reality. 

Socioeconomic problems 

The current socioeconomic outlook in Spain, marked by rising unemployment, the growing risk of social exclusion and inflation were also present in the opening speech of this plenary assembly.

The president expressed the EEC's willingness to collaborate with public administrations on several points: 
-Addressing labor precariousness from an integral perspective.
-Consolidate and develop a minimum income guarantee system.
-Improving access to decent housing
-Ensuring the protection of children and the family
-Advancing in the regularization of migrants. 

"All agreements are lawful if they respect the legal system."

Spain is currently going through some particularly intense days in the political and social spheres. The recent investiture pacts of the Spanish Government and their consequences on the legal system and social equality have not gone unnoticed at the beginning of this Assembly.

At this point, Omella called on "political leaders and social and opinion leaders to do everything in their power to lower the climate of social tension". 

The president of the Spanish bishops dedicated an eloquent paragraph to the government pacts to which he also added some off-script words. On this delicate point, the president of the Spanish bishops wanted to highlight his "call for social dialogue among all the institutions of Spanish society without cordons sanitaires or exclusions".

Although he did not explicitly refer to the amnesty, the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona made it clear that: "all pacts are lawful as long as they respect the legal system, the rule of law, the separation of powers of our democracy, ensure the equality of all Spaniards and guarantee the political, economic and social balance that we Spaniards have given ourselves in the Constitution of 1978, which culminated the intense path of the Transition".

Omella stressed the need for a common agreement that guarantees the equality of Spaniards and avoids social fractures such as the ones Spain is going through: "Any agreement that tries to modify the status quo agreed by all Spaniards in the 1978 Constitution should not only have the consensus of all the political forces of our parliamentary arc, but also the support of a very qualified majority of society, as established in the Constitution itself," said the president of the EEC.

Omella continued: "Otherwise, such pacts will only lead to greater division and confrontation among Spaniards. Immobility is not enough to stop any reform. But neither are reformist attempts that fragment coexistence in Spain. Reform is always necessary, but it must respect the legal mechanisms established for it, it must seek the common good of all and it must always have the consensus of the great majority of citizens". 

Juan José Omella "skipped" the script of his speech to ask the new president of the Spanish government to "work actively with all the political forces to recover social cohesion and devote all his efforts to stitch up the social wounds that have caused some of the recent investiture pacts".

Auza welcomes Ombudsman's report on abuses in the Church

For his part, the Nuncio of the Holy See in Spain wanted to emphasize three points: human dignity, freedom of conscience, education and the work done in favor of the elimination of sexual abuse in the Church. 

Bernardito Auza made a call to the "permanent task of paying attention to the variable aspects of people's lives, for which society must be made aware". Among these aspects, Auza highlighted the incidence of abortion, the situation of exclusion of more than 11 million people in Spain, the situation of so many migrants. 

Auza noted his interest in the work of the Plenary in relation to education "because of its relationship with moral education and conscience. In this regard, he referred to one of the topics to be discussed during these days: the proposal of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites for the declaration of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) as Doctor of the Universal Church and of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales for the declaration of St. John Henry Newman as Doctor of the Universal Church. Both saints were cited by the Nuncio as examples that "help the man of today in the neuralgic center of his personal hesitations and vicissitudes".

Together with this freedom of conscience, the Nuncio expressed the hope that "the education that our schools provide will be a help in the formation of children and young people in the search for the truth that makes their freedom and conscience right".

Just as the bishops wanted to highlight some misinformation that arose from the presentation of the Report, the Nuncio wanted to thank "the Ombudsman and his team of experts for their work, and we express our commitment that the recommendations will be examined in greater depth, in collaboration with all the institutions and all people of good will". In particular, Auza highlighted "in a special way his "wise decision to place the victims at the center of the Report and at the heart of its recommendations".

Finally, the representative of the Holy See in Spain referred to the current socio-political situation in Spain, thanking the Episcopal Conference "which, accompanying the Spanish people in a democratic transition praised and admired by the concert of nations, is permanently committed to ensuring "its contribution to maintaining goodwill, harmony and coexistence in peace, in the service of all Spaniards. I trust that you and your collaborators will know how to accompany each situation with wisdom, prudence and solicitude".