The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest in the United States with more than five million faithful, has decided to prohibit the use of religious music composed by Cesáreo Gabaráin, the Spanish priest accused of abuse by at least 17 victims in a school of the Marists from Madrid and Gipuzkoa, as revealed by EL PAÍS last August. The archdiocese bases its decision on the fact that the Marist congregation received “credible accusations of child abuse”. This Basque priest, who died in 1991, is the most famous author of liturgical music in Spain, creator of popular mass songs such as You’ve come to the shore O Together as brothers, translated and well known throughout the Catholic world. “The archdiocese opposes any inappropriate sexual conduct and is committed to offering our support to surviving victims of abuse,” reports a statement from the region, led by Archbishop José Gómez, who since 2019 has also presided over the National Conference of Bishops.
This attitude contrasts with that of the Spanish Church, which has been silent on the case for three months and has not revealed how the cover-up of the abuse accusations was possible, as a group of students reported it to the leadership of the Marist College of Chamberí , in Madrid, in 1978. However, Gabaráin was transferred to another school and three months later he was appointed by John Paul II as prelate of honor of His Holiness. Neither the Marists, nor the Archdiocese of Madrid, nor that of San Sebastián, the clergyman’s place of origin, have clarified the case. The head of the Madrid archdiocese was then the president of the Episcopal Conference (CEE), Cardinal Vicente Enrique y Tarancón. Asked about it, the spokesman for the Spanish bishops, Luis Argüello declared: “On the part of the Episcopal Conference there is no decision to open any investigation and it would be necessary to see in the referred diocese if they want to do it or not, but frankly I doubt it” . Shortly before he had admitted that, unlike the Church of France, which has brought to light more than 330,000 victims, the Spanish is not “proactive” in investigating cases of pedophilia in the clergy.
Regarding the use of his music, when asked by this newspaper, Argüello rejected the possibility of vetoing it: “I think it would be good if we had the ability to distinguish in this type of matter. That is, if this person is a musical composer, to say that his musical work is contaminated by what he could have said or done seems exaggerated to me. Their songs will have to be valued for their musical quality. Do not start something that exceeds an advance of modern time, because this type of condemnation is typical of medieval times ”. Yet now his music has been banned in Los Angeles, a vast network of 288 parishes, 265 schools and nearly 50 ministries spread over 22,000 square kilometers in three counties. The archdiocese wanted to clarify that it has no records of Gabaráin having served in Los Angeles.
The decision of the Angelina Church follows the one made by the Oregon Catholic Press (OCP), owner of the priest’s copyright in the country, last August, following the information from EL PAÍS. Anyone who tries to buy the rights to any of Cesáreo Gabaraín’s mass compositions in the United States will come across this message: “The profile of the composer, songs and products have been withdrawn pending the results of the Archdiocese of Madrid in the investigation of allegations of abuse ”. “We take the accusations very seriously,” the company said in a statement, adding that it would remove from its website, where the licenses of 20,000 songs are handled, the profile of the composer along with the songs, CDs, scores and songbooks up to the investigation is concluded. “His songs are loved by many and appear in masses and hymns of various denominations. We pray and support the victims of abuse and a fair and successful investigation by the Archdiocese of Madrid ”, states the text. The publishing company also indicates that it will donate the percentage of the royalties that corresponds to the Gabaráin songs to a victim support organization, without specifying to which one. The popular songs of the priest, the only Spanish religious to win a gold record, have not been played since October in California’s third-largest school system, with a population of 40 million.
Gabaráin not only composed liturgical music, he is also the author of Death is not the end, the official anthem since 1981 in the tributes to those who died in the act of service of the Armed Forces and the State security forces. The piece is performed in one of the central moments of the October 12 parade, in homage to the fallen, and is sung by the King himself, who presides over the act. A group of victims asked this year that it not be interpreted, but their request was not answered. This newspaper asked both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior, but both have been silent on the matter, until today, without giving any answer. He also raised the question with the Casa del Rey, which has answered after the national holiday. A spokesperson explains that “this House has nothing to do with the use of the aforementioned musical composition, which is, in any case, the Ministry of Defense the competent institution and instructor of military acts, in which it sets the moment of his interpretation to honor all those who have fallen in Spain throughout the ages ”. In this sense, it refers to the Ministry of Defense.
As for whether Felipe VI would sing the song or not, a detail that could not be clarified because he was wearing a mask, the Casa del Rey only points out, without answering the question, that “it is a solemn time established in certain acts of the Armed Forces and at the His Majesty abides. ” In short, it indicates that the King acts as the protocol dictates and it is not his decision.
The priest made his entire successful career in Spain. He was born in Hernani in 1936 and studied at the seminary in Zaragoza. Later he was chaplain in a Marist schools in Antzuola, Guipuzkoa. Then he traveled to Madrid, where accusations of abuse of former students of the Marist center have arisen. After the first testimonies were published, the Iberian Marist province claimed to be unaware of the case. In July, she expressed her grief over the episodes of “sexual abuse suffered by several students.” “We condemn these events and we apologize to the victims for not having been able to protect them, take care of them and for not having adequately handled these situations,” said the congregation.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles says it opposes sexual misconduct and is committed to supporting victims of sexual predators within the Church. Ask to share any information or complaints about this type of crime in the email protect@la-archdiocese.org. This vision of one of the main burdens of the Catholic institution was a hard-learned lesson. The archdiocese stripped Cardinal Roger Mahony, who spent 25 years at the head of the region, of all power in 2013, after confirming that he protected a hundred predators for years.
This region was one of the first in the United States that began to reveal the abuses committed by its religious. He did so with a report in 2004 that contained names of living and dead priests. As of 2019, the organization had paid $ 740 million to dozens of abused victims over decades. These cases continue to come to court thanks to a law adopted by California in 2019 that extends the statute of limitations for these types of crimes. In February of last year a man went to court to demand justice for having been raped by a priest 28 years ago.
If you know of any case of sexual abuse that has not seen the light, write us with your complaint to abusos@elpais.es