Enough is Never Enough
The Catholic Church, in recent years, has struggled against a horrifying scandal of mind-boggling scale, apparently complicit in, if not outright abetting, the sexual abuse of untold numbers of children.
In Spain, the Church now faces new allegations that, starting during the reign of Francisco Franco and continuing up until sometime in the 1990s, it willfully trafficked babies.
Presently, Spanish authorities are investigating over nine hundred cases, but some estimates put the number of "niños robados" at over 300,000.
The BBC asked Angel Nuñez, of the Spanish justice ministry, if babies were, indeed, stolen. "Without a doubt," he said. And when reporter Katya Adler asked how many, Nuñez replied, "I don't dare to come up with figures. But from the volume of official investigations, I dare to say there were many."
While Vela refused the BBC an interview, it turns out that the reporter, Katya Adler, was a patient at one of the clinics he founded; sometimes, as the saying goes, it's about who you know.
The Spanish government has so far refused to set up an official inquiry, in part because of amnesty laws crafted after Franco's death that were intended to facilitate the democracy emerging in his wake. But private investigations have exhumed the graves of allegedly dead babies, sometimes finding adult remains, or even piles of stone. Meanwhile, many Spaniards are testing their DNA in hopes of finding family members long believed dead. Some matches have already occurred, but privacy laws in Spain are such that if a mother tests through one organization, and a child through another, the match can easily be missed, because "laws prohibit DNA banks from sharing or cross-referencing data and the Spanish government has yet to fulfil its promise to set up a national DNA database".
I cannot begin to comprehend the hurt the Church has willfully caused.
Jesus wept.
. . . . . . . . .—John 11.35
. . . . . . . . .—John 11.35
The Catholic Church, in recent years, has struggled against a horrifying scandal of mind-boggling scale, apparently complicit in, if not outright abetting, the sexual abuse of untold numbers of children.
In Spain, the Church now faces new allegations that, starting during the reign of Francisco Franco and continuing up until sometime in the 1990s, it willfully trafficked babies.
The scale of the baby trafficking was unknown until this year, when two men - Antonio Barroso and Juan Luis Moreno, childhood friends from a seaside town near Barcelona - discovered that they had been bought from a nun. Their parents weren't their real parents, and their life had been built on a lie.
Juan Luis Moreno discovered the truth when the man he had been brought to call "father" was on his deathbed.
"He said, 'I bought you from a priest in Zaragoza'. He said that Antonio had been bought as well."
The pair were hurt and angry. They say they felt like two dogs that had been bought at a pet shop. An adoption lawyer they turned to for advice said he came across cases like theirs all the time.
The pair went to the press and suddenly the story was everywhere. Mothers began to come forward across Spain with disturbingly similar stories.
(Adler)
Juan Luis Moreno discovered the truth when the man he had been brought to call "father" was on his deathbed.
"He said, 'I bought you from a priest in Zaragoza'. He said that Antonio had been bought as well."
The pair were hurt and angry. They say they felt like two dogs that had been bought at a pet shop. An adoption lawyer they turned to for advice said he came across cases like theirs all the time.
The pair went to the press and suddenly the story was everywhere. Mothers began to come forward across Spain with disturbingly similar stories.
(Adler)
Presently, Spanish authorities are investigating over nine hundred cases, but some estimates put the number of "niños robados" at over 300,000.
The BBC asked Angel Nuñez, of the Spanish justice ministry, if babies were, indeed, stolen. "Without a doubt," he said. And when reporter Katya Adler asked how many, Nuñez replied, "I don't dare to come up with figures. But from the volume of official investigations, I dare to say there were many."
The practice of removing children from parents deemed "undesirable" and placing them with "approved" families, began in the 1930s under the dictator General Francisco Franco.
At that time, the motivation may have been ideological. But years later, it seemed to change - babies began to be taken from parents considered morally - or economically - deficient. It became a money-spinner, too.
The scandal is closely linked to the Catholic Church, which under Franco assumed a prominent role in Spain's social services including hospitals, schools and children's homes.
Nuns and priests compiled waiting lists of would-be adoptive parents, while doctors were said to have lied to mothers about the fate of their children.
The name of one doctor, Dr Eduardo Vela, has come up in a number of victim investigations.
In 1981, Civil Registry sources indicate that 70% of births at Dr Vela's San Ramon clinic in Madrid were registered as "mother unknown".
This was legal under Spanish law, and was meant to protect the anonymity of unmarried mothers. It is alleged that this was also widely used to cover up baby theft and trafficking.
Dr Vela stands accused of telling women their babies had died when they had not and handing over those newborn children to other couples for cash.
At that time, the motivation may have been ideological. But years later, it seemed to change - babies began to be taken from parents considered morally - or economically - deficient. It became a money-spinner, too.
The scandal is closely linked to the Catholic Church, which under Franco assumed a prominent role in Spain's social services including hospitals, schools and children's homes.
Nuns and priests compiled waiting lists of would-be adoptive parents, while doctors were said to have lied to mothers about the fate of their children.
The name of one doctor, Dr Eduardo Vela, has come up in a number of victim investigations.
In 1981, Civil Registry sources indicate that 70% of births at Dr Vela's San Ramon clinic in Madrid were registered as "mother unknown".
This was legal under Spanish law, and was meant to protect the anonymity of unmarried mothers. It is alleged that this was also widely used to cover up baby theft and trafficking.
Dr Vela stands accused of telling women their babies had died when they had not and handing over those newborn children to other couples for cash.
While Vela refused the BBC an interview, it turns out that the reporter, Katya Adler, was a patient at one of the clinics he founded; sometimes, as the saying goes, it's about who you know.
We met at his private practice in his home in Madrid. The man painted as a monster in the Spanish media was old and smiley, but his smile soon disappeared when I confessed to being a journalist.
Dr Vela grabbed a metal crucifix which had been standing on his desk. He moved towards me brandishing it in my face. "Do you know what this is, Katya?" he said. "I have always acted in his name. Always for the good of the children and to protect the mothers. Enough."
Dr Vela insists he always acted within the law.
Dr Vela grabbed a metal crucifix which had been standing on his desk. He moved towards me brandishing it in my face. "Do you know what this is, Katya?" he said. "I have always acted in his name. Always for the good of the children and to protect the mothers. Enough."
Dr Vela insists he always acted within the law.
The Spanish government has so far refused to set up an official inquiry, in part because of amnesty laws crafted after Franco's death that were intended to facilitate the democracy emerging in his wake. But private investigations have exhumed the graves of allegedly dead babies, sometimes finding adult remains, or even piles of stone. Meanwhile, many Spaniards are testing their DNA in hopes of finding family members long believed dead. Some matches have already occurred, but privacy laws in Spain are such that if a mother tests through one organization, and a child through another, the match can easily be missed, because "laws prohibit DNA banks from sharing or cross-referencing data and the Spanish government has yet to fulfil its promise to set up a national DNA database".
I cannot begin to comprehend the hurt the Church has willfully caused.
"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for such is the kingdom of God."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .—Mark 10.14
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .—Mark 10.14
