Northern Navarre region publishes one of first official reports on Church abuse in Spain

FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a face mask prays inside a church after a judge barred Catalan authorities from enforcing a stricter lockdown to residents in the city of Lleida, to control the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Lleida, Spain, July 13, 2020. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo

The northern Spanish region of Navarre published a report on Friday identifying 52 cases of alleged sexual abuse of minors in Catholic institutions over seven decades, in one of Spain's first official investigations into Church abuses.

Allegations of widespread child abuse by Catholic clergy and of possible coverups by the Church are only surfacing now in Spain, years after similar scandals rocked the Church in other countries such as the United States, Ireland and France.