A historic apology from Spanish Catholic leaders to women abused in Franco-era rehabilitation centres has been met with public outcry and rejection from survivors.

The protesters say the gesture lacked sincerity and failed to fully acknowledge the extent of the abuse.

The ceremony, organised by CONFER, a Catholic group representing over 400 religious congregations, aimed to apologise for the Church’s role in institutions that detained over 40,000 women and girls between the 1940s and 1985, as reported by The Guardian.

Survivors described the centres as places of forced labour, religious indoctrination and brutal punishments, often targeting girls as young as eight.

Survivor Dolores Gómez, who was institutionalised at 13 after reporting her father’s abuse, said: “This is just a facelift. They’re not asking forgiveness for all that happened, only what they’re willing to recognise.”

As CONFER’s leaders read their apology and expressed “deep sorrow”, many in the audience erupted in protest, chanting “Truth, justice and reparations” and “Neither forget, nor forgive”.

Survivors said their testimonies had been selectively edited and key abuses, including forced adoptions, left unaddressed.

Paca Blanco asked: “How do you apologise to teenage girls that you have tortured, mistreated, disrespected and exploited for labour? You’ve stolen their babies. How do you apologise for that?”

Campaigners are now calling on Spain’s government to officially recognise the survivors as victims of the dictatorship and begin a process similar to Ireland’s response to the Magdalene Laundries scandal.

Author and survivor Consuelo García del Cid said: “This is one step forward in the ongoing battle. But democracy still owes us 10 years of life.”