More than 4,800 cases of sexual abuse
The head of the Portuguese Bishops Conference, Bishop Jose Ornelas news conference to comment on the report
LISBON, Feb 13 – Some 4,815 children were sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church over the past 70 years. Most of the sexual abusers were priests. The commission probing the allegation said in a report on Monday that what has been revealed from the investigation so far is only a small part.
Pedro Strecht, the child psychiatrist
Pedro Strecht, the child psychiatrist who headed the commission, said, “A true tribute must be paid to those who were victims of this abuse as children and who dared to come forward and speak out. (We want to) pay a true tribute to those who were their own and who dared to give voice to the silence.” “They are much more than a statistic.”
Strecht said that “ The 4,815 recorded cases of sexual abuse by priests in Portugal may be the lowest number since 1950. The cases are likely to be even higher. Most of the culprits were priests (77%). Most of the victims were men (57%). These sexual abuses took place in Catholic schools, churches, priests’ homes, confessionals, and other places.
Bishops’ Conference
Most of the sexual abuse happened when the children were 10-14 years old. The youngest victim of sexual abuse was just two years old. The head of the Bishops’ Conference, José Ornelas, presented the report. And told a press conference that “this is a wound that will always hurt all of us. And will continue to embarrass us”.
Ornelas said the meeting with the Portuguese bishop would take place on March 3. And it will be considered that “a system should be made in a more efficient and practical way so that this abuse can be stopped in future.”
Among other recommendations, the commission said the church should condemn all alleged abuse, provide psychological support to victims, and continue to investigate the issue.
Past history
In the olden times, Hans Zoller, the Vatican official responsible for investigating child sex abuse cases, attended an event in Lisbon. And added that “it is very important to continue listening to victims because this is a beginning, not an end”.
“More victims will come forward,” he said, adding that it is now the responsibility of the bishops’ conference to inform Pope Francis about the reports. “The Church needs to look into the past.”
The Portuguese Catholic Church was rocked last year by cases defending bishops accused of sexual abuse.
The commission said that the list of accused priests is still being prepared. We apologize to all the victims,” Ornelas is being investigated for covering up sexual abuse at an orphanage in Mozambique in 2011. Ornelas denies the allegation. Ornelas said, “we apologize to all victims of sexual abuse.”
The Portuguese commission
The Portuguese commission started the investigation in January 2022 and revealed in its report that around 3,000 priests and religious officials sexually abused more than 200,000 children.
The victims of this abuse come from different backgrounds, from every region of the country, including Portuguese citizens living in Europe, Africa and the Americas, and other countries.
The commission spoke with more than 500 victims, analyzed historical church documents, and interviewed bishops and other clergy members.
A total of 25 witnesses heard by the Commission were sent for examination to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. In other cases, legal proceedings cannot be initiated now. Because all these crimes were committed 20 years ago.
The commission said that the law should be changed so that legal action can be initiated for historical crimes committed 30 years ago. The Commission of Inquiry is funded by the Catholic Church. When the commission calls itself independent.
Al Jazeera English
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