The Portuguese episcopate meets on Friday in Fatima to analyze the report of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, which confirmed 512 of 564 testimonies received in ten months.
Expectations are high for this Plenary Assembly and the Portuguese Catholic hierarchy is expected to announce immediate action following the findings of the group led by child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht.
The Independent Commission confirmed 512 of the 564 witness statements received, indicating by extrapolation that the minimum number of victims was about 4,815.
Twenty-five cases were reported to the prosecutor’s office, resulting in 15 investigations, nine of which have already been archived and six are still under investigation.
These testimonies refer to cases that took place between 1950 and 2022, that is, for the period covering the work of the commission.
The summary of the report, however, shows that “the data collected in church archives on cases of sexual abuse should be understood as ‘the tip of the iceberg'”.
On the very day of the report’s presentation, February 13, the president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) acknowledged that the results could not be ignored and acknowledged that he was facing a “dramatic” situation.
José Ornelas left the first word “for the victims”, adding: “From what we have seen, heard and cannot ignore, we are going through a dramatic situation and it is not easy to overcome it.”
However, the Independent Commission made some proposals to the Church, beginning with the creation of a new “committee for continuous study and observation of the topic” with internal and external members of the Church.
The Commission also recommends “acknowledgment by the Church of the existence and extent of the problem and commitment to its adequate prevention in the future”, namely through “observance of the concept of “zero tolerance” proposed by Pope Francis”.
Assuming a “moral duty to denounce the Church and cooperating with prosecutors in cases of alleged crimes of sexual assault”, “effectively asking for forgiveness for situations that have occurred in the past and materializing them”, and “ongoing and external training and supervision for the members of the Church, namely in the field of sexuality (yours and children and adolescents),” are other recommendations that the commission leaves to the church hierarchy.
“Ongoing psychological support for past, present and future victims” is also seen as a responsibility of the church, in conjunction with the National Health Service.
The commission was composed of Pedro Strecht (coordinator, child psychiatrist), Alvaro Laborinho Lucio (commemorative judge), Ana Nunez de Almeida (sociologist), Catarina Vasconcelos (filmmaker), Daniel Sampaio (psychiatrist) and Filipa Tavares (social worker). , with the participation of Vasco Ramos (sociologist), Ana Sofia Varela (clinical psychologist) and Catarina Pires (journalist).
To study the church archives, the Commission invited Francisco Azevedo Méndez (historian), who independently established the Historical Research Group (GIH) along with three other researchers: Juliá Garraio (specialist in gender studies), Rita Almeida Carvalho (historian) and Sergio. Ribeiro Pinto (historian).
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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