Clément Noël triumphs in World Cup night slalom, dashing Eduard Hallberg's hopes

MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO, Italy (AP) — Olympic champion Clément Noël secured his first victory of the season as he won a World Cup night slalom on Wednesday, spoiling Eduard Hallberg's hopes of ending Finland's drought.

Hallberg had led after the first run and the Finnish prodigy was looking to secure a first World Cup men’s victory for his country in nearly 20 years but ended up splitting two French skiers in Madonna Di Campiglio.

Noël, who was third after the first run, finished 0.12 seconds ahead of Hallberg and 0.37 ahead of compatriot Paco Rassat.

It was Noël's first win in nearly a year, since triumphing in a slalom last January, and comes after two second places this season.

“Winning is way different than being second or third,” Noël said. "I knew that in the beginning of the season I was skiing OK, but in training I kept getting better and better the last few weeks. So I was confident that the skiing was there. And just to show it in races, it’s something different.

“But today, everything went well. I was not fully happy with my first run, but the second run was really nice. This night race here in Madonna Di Campiglio is always really cool.”

In November, Hallberg earned Finland’s first World Cup men’s podium result since 2007 by finishing third in his home race in Levi and the 22-year-old was delighted to move a step up the podium.

“It means a lot, it means really a lot,” he said. "Of course a bit bitter to lose with 12 hundredths to the win, but still really happy with the day.

“After the first run, all by myself up there, it was a bit of an unusual experience, but I still think it was pretty exciting and fun ... I mean couple mistakes, but still like decent skiing, and to reach the podium ... it’s amazing.”

The slalom at next month's Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is scheduled for Feb. 16 in Bormio.

There are three more slalom races scheduled for this month, in a packed January calendar.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

France's Clement Noel, top left,is flanked by third placed France's Paco Rassat as he celebrates with the French team after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

France's Clement Noel speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

France's Clement Noel, centre, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, poses with second placed Finland's Eduard Hallberg, left, and third placed France's Paco Rassat, in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

France's Clement Noel reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain's government and the country's Catholic bishops agreed Thursday to a joint plan to compensate victims of sexual abuse by clergy members who have died or whose possible crimes have been proscribed.

The agreement aimed to resolve discrepancies between the left-wing government and church authorities over the question of reparations for abuse victims in the once staunchly Catholic country, which has secularized in recent decades.

The Spanish Episcopal Conference, run by the bishops, said in a statement that the new agreement will allow victims who don’t want to seek help directly from the church to turn to the government and the state’s ombudsman, who has taken a lead role in shedding light on abuse.

Spain’s Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said in a press conference in Madrid that “hundreds” of victims whose aggressors had passed away or were now very old could finally receive recognition of the abuse and receive economic reparations paid by the church.

“Today, we have paid a debt to the victims,” Bolaños said. “It is true that the State has acted late, but we are acting now. Yesterday, the victims couldn’t do anything because these crimes had proscribed.”

Only in the past decade has Spain begun to face the question of sexual abuse by the priesthood and other church members, mainly thanks to the initial reporting by newspaper El País.

In 2023, Spain’s ombudsman delivered a damning 800-page report that investigated 487 known cases of sexual abuse and included a survey that calculated the number of possible victims could reach the hundreds of thousands.

Spain’s bishops strongly refuted that estimate by the ombudsman, saying its own investigation had uncovered 728 sexual abusers within the church since 1945. It said that most of the crimes had occurred before 1990 and that 60% of the aggressors were now dead.

In 2024, the government announced its intention to force the church to compensate victims. That was followed a few months later by the bishops saying they were creating a special committee to hear from victims, assess their claims and ensure their “economic, spiritual and psychological” reparation.

But victims' groups were critical of the bishops' plan since it relied on them approaching the church and had no outside oversight.

On Thursday, Archbishop Luis Argüello, the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, acknowledged that some victims did not feel comfortable approaching the church offices.

Now, victims can turn to the government instead.

Under the new agreement, victims can approach Spain's Justice Ministry with their initial petition. The ministry will pass it on to the ombudsman, who will study it and propose a compensation package that the church’s committee will then assess. If no agreement can be reached with the church and the victim, the case will go to a joint committee with representatives of the church, the ombudsman's office and victims' associations. If that committee can’t agree, the ombudsman's decision will stand, Bolaños said.

The window for filing claims will be open for one year. After that, the agreement can be extended for an additional year if needed, according to Bolaños.

In addition to victims' groups and the Spanish bishops, Bolaños thanked the work of late Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV in uncovering abuse in the church.

Argüello said the church had already paid out 2 million euros ($2.3 million) in compensation after taking up petitions by more than a hundred victims since its special committee opened in 2024.

Payments to victims will be free of taxes in the new deal.

Only a handful of countries have had government-initiated or parliamentary inquiries into clergy sex abuse, although some independent groups have carried out their own investigations.

The issue of compensating victims of abuse has long vexed the church, with wide disparities in programs and payouts around the world. In the United States, where the abuse scandal erupted in 2002, litigation, settlements and abuse compensation programs have cost the church billions of dollars and led several dioceses to seek bankruptcy protection.

Elsewhere, church-run compensation programs have awarded smaller amounts to victims and paired financial reparations with services offering therapy and spiritual assistance. The French church, for example, paid out an average of about 35,000 euros ($41,000) to each of the 358 victims whose claims were received in 2023. Compensation awards were approved in 2024 for another 489 people, 88 of whom were given the maximum 60,000 euro ($70,000) claim, the church reported.

The Vatican’s child protection advisory board said in its report last year that the Catholic Church had a moral obligation to help victims heal, and that financial reparations for the abused, and tougher sanctions for the abusers and their enablers were essential remedies.

AP writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.

FILE - The president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Luis Arguello, centre and Jesus Diaz Sariego, President of Spain's Conference of Religious Orders, left, take part in a press conference in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul White, File)