MADRID, June 2 (Reuters) - An investigation by the Spanish Catholic Church into child sexual abuse by members of the clergy and non-clerical staff has so far identified 728 alleged abusers and 927 victims since the 1940s, according to its first report. "We acknowledge the harm caused," said Jose Gabriel Vera, the spokesman for the Spanish Bishops' Conference. "We want to know what went wrong in the selection of candidates for the priesthood, what went wrong during their training...what has led a person who decided to give himself to God, to give himself to sexual abuse," Vera said. According to the victims - most of them male - more than 63% of the alleged abusers have died. Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Miguel Gutierrez Editing by Andrei Khalip and Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Jose Gabriel Vera, Vera, Emma Pinedo, Miguel Gutierrez, Andrei Khalip Organizations: Spanish Catholic Church, Bishops ' Conference, El, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spain, El Pais, U.S, Ireland, France