Reports of sexual abuse to VITA have already included suspended priests.

Reports of sexual abuse received by the VITA Group have already led to the suspension of priests from their duties while they are examined in the investigation into suspicions in the Portuguese Catholic Church, the structure’s coordinator said this Monday.

“We know that some suspects have already been suspended from their duties during the canonical investigation process. I won’t quantify this, but some victims are at the stage where they are being called in for questioning,” psychologist Rute Agulhas. Lusa said, pointing out that among these cases of suspected sexual abuse of children and young people are priests.

According to the coordinator of the VITA group, members of this structure also accompanied “in various situations” victims who filed complaints at hearings in diocesan commissions and religious institutions.

According to the latest published balance sheet, as of September 29, the structure coordinated by the psychologist had already received 57 requests for help. The General Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Police received reports of 13 cases, as well as 31 cases related to church structures.

Asked about the impact of World Youth Day in Portugal on victims of sexual abuse committed in the ecclesiastical sphere, Rute Agulhas stressed that it was “impossible to generalize”, although she acknowledged an “increase in requests for help” during this period. (beginning of August).

“More people felt decompensated because the Catholic Church was causing overstimulation, which ended up activating a lot of memories and causing more emotional suffering,” he explained.

Although the VITA Group Coordinator also noted that “there were victims for whom World Youth Day played a positive role” because they felt supported in seeking help in the presence of Pope Francis, the VITA Group Coordinator acknowledged the “anger” that others felt the sacrifices and difficulties they experienced in managing their emotions in those days.

The VITA Group can be contacted via its hotline (91 509 0000) or through the registration form, now available on the website www.grupovita.pt.

Created in April within the framework of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, it is an impartial, autonomous and independent body whose purpose is to welcome, listen to, monitor and prevent situations of sexual abuse against children and vulnerable adults in the context of the Catholic Church.

VITA grew out of the work of the Independent Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, led by pediatric psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, which over the course of nearly a year verified 512 reports of cases occurring between 1950 and 2022. , indicating, by extrapolation, a minimum number of victims of 4815 people.