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The Office of the Ombudsman reported this Monday that the Victims Unit, created within the framework of the recognition and reparation system for victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, is currently analyzing 450 cases.
Of these, 149 are already in the processing phase, the final stage of the procedure in which the recognition of victim status is determined and, where applicable, the corresponding reparation.
According to data provided by the institution, as of July 31 the Unit has held personalized interviews with 105 people and has rejected four applications on the grounds that they did not fit the scope of work established in the Protocol signed on March 30, 2026 between the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), the Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER), the Government and the Ombudsman.
The figure represents an increase compared to the latest report released by the institution at the end of May, when the Unit reported that it was analyzing 317 cases.
Processing of the first cases advances
The recognition and reparation system began operating on April 15, once the Victims Unit was established, made up of independent professionals specialized in victimology, psychology, criminology and other legal disciplines.
Since then, it has received applications forwarded by the Processing Unit of the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes.
The Protocol establishes that, after studying each case and hearing the parties involved, the Unit must prepare a proposal for recognition or denial of victim status within a maximum period of three months.
This period may be extended by one additional month when there is an extraordinary volume of applications or the cases present special complexity.
The 149 cases that have already moved to the processing phase are in the final stage of the procedure, in which both the recognition of victim status and the reparation that, where applicable, corresponds are determined.
Symbolic, restorative and economic reparations
The Protocol contemplates different forms of reparation. These may be symbolic or restorative in nature, through institutional recognition, accompaniment of victims or the request for apologies.
It also provides for economic reparations aimed at compensating for the damage caused and the expenses derived from the treatment of possible physical and psychological after-effects.
When presenting the operation of this system, the Ombudsman, Ángel Gabilondo, stated that the objective of the procedure is to «recover the person and repair damages» and affirmed that «it is not a mere objectifying bureaucratic procedure but a flexible, personalized, professional and humane procedure.»