Professionals from the law firm Cremades & Calvo Sotelo will conduct an external audit commissioned by the Episcopal Conference to investigate sexual violence in the Catholic Church. This decision does not mean that the investigation to be carried out by the law firm will be zero on the budget of the bishops, who will have to pay the costs of transfers to the firm and the hiring of outside professionals.
The agreement between Javier Cremades and the President of the Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Juan Jose Omela, was ratified on 22 February. A document published on the Episcopal Conference (CEE) website on a remote site, which was not previously public, states that expenses – other than those that were “probono” – will be paid to the bishops and “will be accrued on a monthly basis.”
Thus, the economic approach to investigation promoted by the Spanish Church is similar to that in France, where commission members volunteered. Even so, the costs of the investigation and visit management amounted to around € 2.6 million.
The document, signed by Cremades and Omella, includes a twelve-month period to submit the first report with data and recommendations, in no case mandatory. In those six weeks, the multidisciplinary team (consisting of 28 experts from twelve countries) barely managed to meet the 45 victims of the violence, and they met with only three bishops: Malaga, Santiago de Compostela, and another. From Madrid, according to data provided by a lawyer at a press conference on Wednesday.
In a meeting with the media, he also revealed that Manuela Carmena, former mayor of Madrid and retired judge; Encarnación Roca, former Vice President of the Constitutional Court; And Juan Luis Chebrian, former director of El País; They will consult an outside research team. In a conversation with elDiario.es, Carmena clarified that she is not going to participate in the commission. “I was invited to participate and I did not want to, because I do not agree with the approach,” said the retired magistrate.
According to him, a day before the press conference, the law firm requested once again and at that moment asked to “make a report” on “the way to treat the victims.” He agreed to this, though insisted he was only going to write the dossier. “I find it interesting to be with people who do not think like me,” he said. In his work, he advocates that the church apologize to the victims for “changing the issues that determined what happened” and addresses “a sense of the abuse of power by the perpetrators.” He admits that so far he has only “general lines” of his dissertation because “everything was very hasty”.
To prepare a report from the office, they offered to sign a contract or do it “Probono”. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Carmena distanced herself from the commission headed by Cremedes, believing that “the approach was too closed” and “too database-based”. “I wanted it to be much more open. They did not schedule a hearing with the victims. It’s very important to me because it involves reparation,” he emphasizes.
Like Carmen, Roca and Chebrian will make reports that will take part in the investigation. The former vice-president of the Constitutional Court will prepare an opinion on civil liability and compensation for victims, and the former director of El País, who is a member of the legal firm’s advisory board, will analyze the media dimension to this problem. .
While the firm, as such, will offer its services “Pro Bono”, the truth is that by reading the contract we can conclude that some experts will pay for the services performed. Cremades noted this Wednesday that “almost everyone” will pay “below market” without specifying any figure of the amount.
The panel of experts working with Cremades professionals to investigate includes the co-ordinator of the Portuguese Church’s Pedophilia Commission, Pedro Strecht, and partners from the German firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl (WSW), which has prepared a report on the violence. At the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising – Attorneys Martin Push and Ulrich Wastley.
Among the Spanish experts working with the law firm is Manuel Viloria, a professor of political science and administration at the URJC who specializes in transparency. His work will focus on transparency oversight during the investigative procedure. “We have to meet from time to time and see how cases arise and how they are analyzed. How much is access to the church archives. You have to see it all,” explains Viloria, who also explains that she will work with Pro Bono.
The contract that facilitates this investigation is between an Episcopal conference that is “concerned and hurt” by the violence scandal – as seen at the beginning of the text – which “wants to open a new phase and take the initiative with transparency and professionalism.” To show their genuine concern for the care of the people and for the promotion of the dignity of every human being. “
Concerning the Church’s cooperation with other investigations, which was already visible in January last year, the contract stipulates that “an independent working group set up in the office may also liaise with competent technical authorities to provide and exchange information, views and approaches to the problem.” In practice, this will allow the Cremades and not the bishops to appear before the Public Defender’s Commission. What Omela, Osorio and Arguello did not specify after their meeting with the Pope could not be specified.
“In this way,” the contract adds, “the spirit of the church’s co-operation with the public authorities materializes and their work is facilitated, as well as ensuring that the data provided and its methodology are credible and at the same time provide legal guarantees.” Victims and all participants. “
Finally, “legal advice is obtained at various stages of the investigation, data protection, court results, etc. always on the basis that the office is not hired to protect the EEC or the victims.”
All information at www.religiondigital.org
Source: El Diario
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
