Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon Manuel Clemente repeated this Wednesday a plea for forgiveness to the Portuguese Catholic Church following the release of a report on the sexual abuse, saying it was “a mixture of sadness and hope.”
“We repeat the request for forgiveness, our full solidarity and commitment to help in the present and prevent in the future,” the Cardinal Patriarch said in a Lenten message at the Ash Wednesday ceremony at the Lisbon Cathedral.
Manuel Clemente deplored the actions committed by the Church and the “affected”, stating that “he should never have suffered”.
“At this moment, there cannot be sorrow, shame, regret,” he stressed, emphasizing that the Church should “try to alleviate what can be alleviated for those who suffered at that time and continue to suffer today.”
At the end of the ceremony, in statements to reporters, Manuel Clemente commented on the opening of 15 investigations by the prosecutor’s office after 25 reports sent by an independent commission to study sexual violence in the Catholic Church, saying that “he is ready to cooperate.”
“What the public ministry should do, the public ministry does. Of course, it will have a canonical aspect (…), it will have to go to the Holy See, to the Vatican,” he said. .
The prosecutor’s office opened 15 investigations following 25 reports sent by an independent commission to study sexual violence in the Catholic Church, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR) confirmed this Wednesday, which also received four complaints from the Lisbon Patriarchate.
“All the reports received by PGR were sent to the competent structures of the prosecutor’s office. In two cases where the information was too vague, additional elements were requested from the IC and are awaiting a response. In other cases, corresponding requests were initiated. A total of 15 surveys were launched, with some surveys involving more than one person,” reads a PGR response posted this Wednesday by Lusa.
Manuel Clemente stressed that if there are more cases, they will be “treated as expected” in the Ministry of Public Administration, the Church Court and the Vatican.
“What needs to be fixed will be fixed. There is no other way for people to change their lives,” he stressed.
The Patriarch of Lisbon also recalled that he was not surprised by the report of the independent commission.
“They showed signs that everything would be more or less in order. That’s how it was. That’s how it is. Let’s fix it. Support what needs to be supported and we will move forward,” he added.
The topic of sexual violence in the Catholic Church marks this Wednesday some of the already well-known Lenten messages from the Portuguese bishops, in which the Bishop of Viseu refers to “heinous crimes” and the Prelate of Coimbra expresses solidarity with the victims.
Antonio Luciano, Bishop of Viseu, recalled the “terrible crimes” of sexual abuse of minors, saying it was time to ask for forgiveness from all victims.
“Let’s make this Lent a genuine time of inner conversion to ask, in shame, for forgiveness to all victims of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Portugal,” he wrote, adding, “let’s denounce such acts as heinous crimes.” “that cause so much suffering to victims, families and the church. Let’s pray that no one else falls victim to these abuses,” adds the Catholic official.
Bishop Virgilio Antunes of Coimbra, in a message addressed to the dioceses, expressed “solidarity” and a request for forgiveness to the victims of sexual violence, assuring that the diocese will “do everything” to ensure that these situations “do not take place in the church.”
“We ask for forgiveness from each and every one of those affected in the hope that they will accept our feelings; we assure them of our solidarity and acceptance as a contribution to redress the human, moral and spiritual damage sustained in their lives; we assure you that we will do everything so that the abuses that we now know about do not take place in the church, ”wrote Virgilio Antunes in his message to Lent, which is quoted by the Ecclesia agency.
Virgilio Antunes goes further and asks: “How can we convey the faith to everyone as we enter Lent, marked by the shame and pain of the sexual abuse committed against children in our Church?”
Bishop Manuel Quintas of the Algarve says the report of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church, released last week, “represents a vehement appeal for conversion.”
According to the head of the diocese of Algarve, “no one can silence or ignore this cry. It’s an untold reality.”
The Bishop of Vila Real, Antonio Augusto Azevedo, also believes that the Church is following the Lenten path “with a heart full of pain and sorrow because of the news of serious abuses committed against children.”
Bishop Manuel Linda of Porto warns that “the recent publication of a report on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has revealed a very sad reality: some priests and pastorally committed laity committed heinous crimes, causing great suffering to the victims.” and with their sin have sullied the face of the Church and discredited it before certain sections of society.”
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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