D. Rui Valeriu, the new patriarch of Lisbon, has already met with victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. “On my part there is this assertive openness to meeting with victims. I am planning a meeting with one more,” explained Bishop Rádio Renascença. The Patriarchate did not say how many meetings have already taken place and when they took place. “I am at the forefront of the battle” to not only resolve the past, but also to build the future,” stressed D. Ruy Valerio, adding that all victims who agreed receive psychological support. A report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church published in February this year found that 512 testimonies involving 4,815 victims were substantiated, pediatric psychiatrist Pedro Strecht told the independent commission that examined the cases. “It is impossible to count the total number of children,” he said at the time, since contact with the commission was voluntary. Victims report separation from the church as an institution and from religious practice.