Several hundred Catholics pray in Lisbon against church abuses

Several hundred Catholics gathered this Wednesday near the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon for a prayer vigil over sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church, asking for “forgiveness, communion and consecration.”

“The important point here was a sense of urgency in the sense that the disclosure of the report did not leave us indifferent and that we should show it publicly,” Joaquim Costa, one of the signatories of the initiative, which also took place. in other areas, journalists from the country said.

Highlighting the emergency and the need for responses, hundreds of Catholics, lay people and worshipers spent an hour in silence with a lit candle.

“If people come here, it’s because they feel the same sense of urgency. They did not come for some organization, for some slogan. They came for what they feel in their heart. What everyone feels. Speak out and apologize for what happened,” he said.

For Joaquim Costa, it is the feeling of “rejection”.

Paulo Camara told reporters that it was “a simple gesture of prayer”.

“We strongly believe in the power of prayer. This is a gesture of mercy and a gesture of collective hope, but in silence, because we understand that at the moment, silence in prayer speaks volumes,” he stressed.

Also, a subscriber of the initiative emphasized that Catholics are united by “only a gesture of pain for the pain of others and a desire for change.”

The vigil was also attended by Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon Manuel Clemente, who said the hour of prayer was marked by “very complete silence.”

I came to express what this silence expressed. Of course, you were touched by the silence that reigned here at this hour, and this silence is very filled, first of all, with two realities: first, solidarity, fellowship, all those who suffered. (…) The second (…) is that for believers, when the wounds are so deep, they can only be resolved with a God who is beyond our strength and good will,” he stressed.

“Those two feelings filled most of those present because it was a very filled silence,” he added.

Manuel Clemente also stressed that there have been changes in the Catholic Church regarding issues such as sexual abuse.

“Since the 1990s, we have had the grace of having two great dads. Pope Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis, who for the past 10 years has constantly warned us about this problem, both in the Church and in society at large. A series of measures,” he said.

Also on site was Chega party leader Andre Ventura, who said he wanted to attend as a Catholic, rejecting any political use.

“We do not use any initiative. Chega invited everyone who wanted to come as a Catholic, and not as a political party. I myself came as a Catholic. As a citizen, I can also make statements. I think this is not yet prohibited by law,” he said. He.

According to Andre Ventura, it is important that the citizens mobilize and also that the political forces show that they are concerned about this issue.

“This is a private matter, but at the same time it is a public issue, and we, as government officials, should deal with this,” he said.

The prayer vigil allowed several people, as members of the Catholic Church, to express “a request for forgiveness for their passivity and lack of vigilance” to the victims of sexual violence and their families.