Spanish Catholic Church's internal child abuse investigation is 'of little use', prosecutor says

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis leads a Holy Mass in St. Peter's Square as he canonises ten new saints at the Vatican, May 15, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

MADRID (Reuters) - An internal investigation by the Spanish Catholic Church into alleged child sexual abuse by members of the clergy is "partial" and "of little use", the office of Spain's national prosecutor wrote in a letter to the country's ombudsman made available to Reuters.

The Spanish Catholic Church in January launched diocesan-level inquiries after Spanish newspaper El Pais reported in December more than 1,200 cases of alleged abuse between 1943 and 2018.