Overview
- A protocol signed Monday by the Government, the Defensor del Pueblo, the Spanish bishops and religious orders sets up a one-year, extendable process that opens to applications on April 15.
- The Defensor del Pueblo will examine each claim and propose reparations without preset scales, and the Church will pay the amounts after a step-by-step review that ends with a final ruling by the Defensor if there is no agreement.
- Victims will file first with a Justice Ministry unit, then the Defensor’s team will draft a proposal within up to three months, the Church’s PRIVA panel will evaluate it within two months, and a mixed commission can try to resolve disputes within a month before a final decision.
- Payments will be exempt from income tax under a deal with Spain’s Treasury, and the exemption also covers people who already received Church compensation.
- Officials said talks with the Vatican helped unlock the pact after earlier tensions over compensation methods, and the new route is aimed at time-barred cases while allowing those who used the Church’s PRIVA plan to access this mixed system.