Gabilondo activates the commission that will investigate abuses in the Church

Gabilondo activates the commission that will investigate abuses in the Church

Gabilondo's first meeting with the Ombudsman's Advisory Commission. / RC

He chairs the first meeting of the Advisory Commission that will prepare a report on this matter and opens the channels of communication for the victims

JM

The Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, chaired this Tuesday the constitutive meeting of the Advisory Commission to prepare a report on sexual abuse in the sphere of the Catholic Church and the role of public powers, according to the order of the Congress of Deputies .

This Advisory Commission is made up of 20 people, of which 17 are external with experience in victim care, with knowledge in the legal field, in human rights, in victimology or in teaching. Chaired by the Ombudsman, the first deputy, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril, and the second deputy, Patricia Bárcena, also participate.

As Ángel Gabilondo already announced on June 20 in Congress, the Advisory Commission has among its main objectives «to determine facts and responsibilities, propose reparation procedures to victims and promote prevention measures and action protocols to prevent this from happening again. to happen".

These are the members of the Advisory Commission

Together with the Advisory Commission, two other areas of action have been created: a Forum of Associations, which will be the space in which the representatives of the victims' associations who wish to contribute their experience and positions through different work sessions, and a Victim Assistance Unit. Said Unit is made up of professionals with experience in this field, whose task will be to assist and listen to the victims who come to present their testimony. The Unit will attend to the considerations of the Advisory Commission.

In this line, the institution has enabled on the web
(www.defensordelpueblo.es) the section 'Attention to victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church', with information on the order received and where, in addition, the different channels are offered where, starting tomorrow, July 6, victims who wish to do so can transfer their testimonies .

Victims may contact the experts of the Victims Assistance Unit by calling the freephone number 900 111 025, or in person, or by email ([email protected]) or by post (Ombudsman. Calle Zurbano, 42. 28010).

"rigor and seriousness"

Last Monday, July 20, the Ombudsman appeared before the Joint Congress-Senate Commission on Relations with the Ombudsman to report on the status of the work carried out so far on the assignment received from the Congress of Deputies. During his intervention, Gabilondo assured that the institution is going to work "rigorously, seriously, with determination and with responsibility." And he stressed that this task "is a call to society and institutions, from the pain and experience of the victims and those who come with them." The Ombudsman also stated that the institution assumes the assignment "without any a priori and with a great opportunity to study in depth what has happened."

Source link