Victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church who submit a request before December should receive financial compensation paid by the Catholic Church by the middle of next year.
This Thursday, the Portuguese bishops announced that at the plenary meeting of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), the award of these compensations was unanimously approved and that victims “willing” must submit their request before the end of this year.
“After this, the request will be analyzed by a commission, the work of which is being completed and which will determine the amount of these compensations,” the CEP president said, adding that “this analysis and decision will not take much time.”
Without ever talking about values, D. José Ornelas assured that a fund would be created to which all dioceses would contribute, and that it was from this fund that money would flow to the victims.
“We can’t talk about values because at the moment we don’t have any references. We do not know how many victims will demand this compensation and what will be determined for each victim,” said D. José Ornelas.
As for the commission that will determine the amounts to be paid, the president of the CEP did not want to name names, but assured that it would include specialists from various fields, including justice and healthcare.
Assuring that the values already defined by the courts “will be respected,” the CEP president guaranteed that “all victims, including those whose cases were closed in court due to the death of the aggressor,” can claim compensation.
“We are not talking about compensation, because we want this to go beyond judicial criteria. There is a desire on the part of the Church to take the side of the victims,” he clarified.
Moreover, if any victim does not agree with the value determined by the commission, he must report this to the bishops’ conference, which will have the final say.
Vita Group has already received 19 requests for compensation
Victims wishing to receive financial compensation must make a request to Grupo Vita or the diocesan commissions for the protection of minors. Vita has already received information from 19 victims that they wish to receive compensation, but this number could be much higher. If the average compensation is the same as in the rest of Europe (€23,800), the total cost would easily exceed €500,000.
Author: Secundino Cunha
Source: CM Jornal
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