The Portuguese Catholic Church asked God for forgiveness this Friday.An independent commission determined that victims of sexual abuse had at least 4,815 testimonies. Confirmed, it mostly occurred in different religious institutions between 1960 and 1990.
“We sincerely apologize once again to all our victims. sexual abuse Within the Catholic Church in Portugal. This (apology) will be made public next April“The province, here in Fatima, at its next plenary meeting,” the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) said in a statement.
He also offered support to the faithful and priests of the Church who were “suffering from the effects” of the investigation. According to the newspaper Publico, “We express our sympathy and courage in the hope that these conditions will encourage us to renew the Church itself.”
Likewise, CEP also states it in its communiqué. “Zero tolerance for all abusers and those who in any way cover up abuses within the Catholic Church.” “The victims’ wounds cannot be repaired” adds.
José Ornelas, head of the CEP and bishop of Leiria-Fátima, said at a press conference: a special group will be formed to support the victims, Integrated into the National Coordinating Team of the Diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults.
He stated that this group will consist of: “people who are not part of the church hierarchy”, but it is a “direct point of contact with the commission”. “Our aim is to have a reputation with the victims,” he ruled.
Psychological and spiritual follow-up for victims
Another suggested measure is If they wish, they offer psychological and spiritual follow-up to the victims. Although he does not intend to take measures to detect cases in their institutions, “Dioceses will be responsible for the psychological follow-up of victims if they wish.”
On the other hand, he explained that lists of more than 100 alleged abusers were duly handed over to the respective dioceses, but when asked by the press whether these names could be withdrawn from the Church, Ornelas said “every bishop has to take precautions in light of civil and canonical norms”.
“I can’t kick someone out of ministry just because someone has harassed them (…) Until it’s minimally proven, I can’t. Taking someone out is a serious thing.”He added that they do not know how many of those appearing on the list are active.
This came after the commission estimated at least 4,815 victims on 13 February. In particular, the institution confirmed 512 statements from victims of sexual abuse out of a total of 564 statements received.
According to the report, most of the abusers are men and 77 percent are priests. The greatest number of cases occurred between the 1960s and 1990s, “a quarter of the total cases reported between 1991 and the present”.
As for where they were processed, the document refers to seminaries, boarding schools, and admissions institutions. Catholic Church, confessionals, sacraments, and parish priest’s home.
In addition, the report states that the average age of victims at the onset of harassment is 11.2 years. The commission also revealed that most of the children were abused more than once, and 27.5 percent of the abuses lasted more than one year.