MADRID, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Spain's Catholic Church, reeling from a clergy sexual abuse scandal, agreed with the government on Thursday to compensate victims of abuse whose cases have expired under the statute of limitations or where the perpetrator has died.

"Today we are settling a debt and doing justice to the victims. We are moving from decades of silence and oblivion to fair reparation paid by the Church," Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said of the deal signed by his ministry and the Church.

The abuse scandal surfaced after an investigation by El Pais newspaper in 2021 uncovered more than 1,200 alleged cases, echoing similar scandals in the Catholic Church in the United States, Ireland and France.

A 2023 report by Spain's human rights ombudsman estimated hundreds of thousands of victims over decades, based on a survey of 8,000 people. It urged the creation of a state fund and accused the Church of failing to cooperate and trying to "minimise the phenomenon." More than 700 people shared their cases with the ombudsman up to 2024.

An investigation commissioned by the Spanish Catholic Church identified around 2,000 victims by the end of 2023.

Under the agreement signed on Thursday, the ombudsman will review each case and propose compensation — financial, moral, psychological or restorative — based on the victim's request, Bolaños said.

Previously, victims could apply directly to the Church, but many were reluctant. The Church said Thursday it had already paid around 2 million euros ($2.34 million) to victims.

The new process is for victims who do not want to apply directly to the Church. Reparations proposed by the ombudsman must be agreed upon by both the victim and the Church’s Assessment Commission.

($1 = 0.8563 euros)

(Reporting by Emma PinedoEditing by Frances Kerry)