Spain: Clergy abuse victims hopeful at signs to end impunity

By ARITZ PARRA
Associated Press

MADRID (AP) — After decades of neglect, victims of sexual abuse by the Spanish clergy say that they are finally seeing momentum building in their quest for real accountability and reparations. On Tuesday, Spanish lawmakers took the first step towards opening a parliamentary inquiry on the issue, a move that victims hail as a potential game-changer. Prosecutors are also stepping up efforts to dig deeper into existing and new allegations. And Spain’s left-to-center government is gauging whether to back the parliamentary probe or to launch another independent effort. The stacking up of different initiatives comes after Spain’s leading newspaper, El País, documented at least 611 cases of abuses involving no less than 1,246 victims.