The Vita group has so far received 24 requests for financial compensation for damages from victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Portugal, starting on Tuesday through the country’s dioceses, as announced this Sunday.
“Twenty-four people have so far requested financial compensation and these processes will subsequently be assessed according to criteria to be determined by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference,” said in a statement the Vita group, which will also participate in this determination of criteria with the diocesan commissions for protection of minors and vulnerable adults.
The note explains that the Vita group, created by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) following the work of the Independent Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, “advocates a case-by-case assessment, taking into account that decades of scientific research have shown that psychological damage in traumatic situations depends on several variables.”
An independent commission has reviewed 512 testimonies over nearly a year in cases that occurred between 1950 and 2022, extrapolating to a minimum number of victims of 4,815, and the coordinating body Rute Agulhas recently stated that it “carried out a total of 56 services” and that “ There are several more services planned for April.”
The Vita group has identified as one of its tasks for this year the creation of a route through the country’s dioceses, “thus striving for closer contact, allowing a more rigorous diagnosis of the needs of each territory,” we read in the note.
The route begins on Tuesday in Évora “with face-to-face training for priests and deacons” and is followed by “another four Saturday mornings aimed at training pastoral agents and the elements that make up the various IPSS.” [Instituições Particulares de Solidariedade Social] Archdiocese of Evora,” explained the Vita group.
“Raising awareness and training various church bodies on how to prevent, identify and report situations of sexual abuse is one of the priorities” the organization has adopted “toward a culture of protection and care.”
“In these 11 months of work, the Vita team has already been contacted by 89 people who have reported situations of sexual abuse in the context of the Catholic Church in Portugal,” the note said, adding that “the majority of people are referred for a process of regular psychological and/or psychiatric monitoring.” .
The second report on the activities of the Vita group will be publicly presented in Fatima on June 18, said the organization, whose coordinator is Rute Agulhas.
The CEP has approved the creation of a fund “with joint contributions from all dioceses” to provide financial compensation to victims of sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church.
The decision was announced in Fatima at the end of the CEP plenary assembly, which determined that these financial compensations would be awarded of an “additional nature.”
“To continue this process, the Assembly has determined that requests for financial compensation must be submitted to the Vita group or the diocesan commissions for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults between June and December 2024,” the CEP statement added.
According to the episcopate, “later the assessment commission will determine the amount of compensation awarded.” This commission will consist of experts from various fields.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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