An investigation by Spain’s Catholic church into the sexual abuse of children by clergy and laity who worked for it has so far led to the identification of 728 alleged abusers and 927 victims since the 1940s, according to its first report on the case.

“We recognize the damage that has been caused,” said Jose Gabriel Vera, a spokesman for the Spanish Archbishops’ Conference. “We want to help all victims…to stand by them in healing their wounds.”

The issue came to the fore in Spain in 2021 after El Pais newspaper reported more than 1,200 reported cases, years after sex abuse scandals rocked the church in countries such as the US, Ireland and France.

Several investigations were launched, including by the Ombudsman in Spain, while the church itself conducted its own internal investigation.

“We want to know what went wrong with the selection of the candidate priests, what went wrong with their training…and what led a man who decided to devote himself to God to proceed to sexual abuse,” said Vera.

The report, which includes victim testimony and is not proof of guilt or innocence, said more than 99 percent of the suspects are men and that half of the abusers were clerics. Most of the recorded cases took place in the 1960s-1980s.

According to victims – mostly men – more than 63% of reported abusers have died.