Spain's bishops have apologized after research found that the country's Roman Catholic clergy sexually molested over 200,000 youngsters since 1940.
The Spanish Episcopal Conference, however, stated that the figures indicated in the study by an independent panel "do not correspond to the truth."
The publication, which was released on Friday, did not provide an exact number of abuse victims but stated that a poll of more than 8,000 people revealed that 0.6% of Spain's adult population had been sexually abused as children by members of the clergy.
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The conference stated in a statement issued following an extraordinary assembly conducted to review the report, "The bishops present have expressed their pain for the damage caused by some members of the Church with sexual abuse and reiterate their request for forgiveness from the victims."
"The Church's excesses were upsetting. "The extrapolation from data obtained in a survey attached to the report is also surprising," it continued.
"They do not correspond to the truth nor do they represent the group of priests and believers who work loyally and with dedication of their lives in the service of the kingdom."
On Tuesday, its officials were set to hold a press conference.
After 14 months of labor, the report, the first major inquiry into the abuse of minors by members of the Catholic Church in Spain, was released on Friday.
It includes cases dating back to the 1940s, but the vast majority happened between 1970 and 1990.
Cardinal Juan Jose Omella, president of the Episcopal Conference, stated on social media following the publication of the study that the Church was aware of 1,125 cases of sexual assault.
Unlike in other countries, charges of clerical abuse have only lately gained traction in Spain. This traditionally Catholic country has become increasingly secular, prompting survivors to accuse the government of stonewalling.
In March 2022, Spain's parliament decisively authorized the establishment of an independent committee.
The country's Catholic Church declined to participate in the investigation, but it did give documents relating to cases of sexual assault.
It has also commissioned a private legal company to conduct an "audit" of past and contemporary sexual abuse by clergy, teachers, and others linked with the Church, which is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
Patterns of widespread child abuse inside the Catholic Church have been exposed in recent decades across the United States and Europe, as well as Chile and Australia, undermining the moral authority of the 1.3 billion-member Church.
In 2021, an independent commission in France reported the clergy had sexually molested approximately 216,000 minors, predominantly boys, since 1950.
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