The Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon considered on Wednesday that incidents of sexual violence in the Portuguese Catholic Church are not a stain on World Youth Day (WYD), which takes place in Lisbon in August.
“This is an indelible stain on a young person or a child who has been abused. For the WYD and for the notoriety of the Church, whatever it may be, nothing compares to the suffering experienced by someone who has been the victim of such a crime, everything else is secondary, ”Americo Aguiar emphasized.
The president of the JMJ Lisboa 2023 Foundation, who spoke to reporters before a meeting with youth at the Instituto Justiça e Paz in Coimbra, does not foresee that the report of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church will reduce participation in the gathering.