The President of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), José Ornelas, this Friday sent a possible compensation to the victims of sexual violence to their perpetrators, indicating that the organization will not pay compensation.
“As far as victim support is concerned, the issue of compensation is clear in both canon law and civil law. If there is an evil that someone has done, then it is the one who is responsible in terms of compensation,” said José Ornelas.
The prelate spoke at a press conference after an extraordinary plenary meeting this Friday in Fatima, which was devoted exclusively to the analysis of the final report of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church in Portugal. came out February 13th.
“Speaking of help and support for those affected – it’s right that they have it – this is a priority for us,” he said, ensuring that “no one will lose access to treatment.” [psicológico] for lack of funds.”
Insisting that in canon law and civil law “fines and compensation are a matter of personal law”, the Bishop of the Diocese of Leiria Fatima affirmed that the Catholic Church wants to administer justice, “and justice is done through a direct and fair procedure”. .
Answering the question whether the announced measures correspond to the expectations of the victims, he stressed that for the CEP this is “not a trifle”.
“For us, this is a hand full of obligations,” he said, noting that the path traveled within the CEP towards clarity and transparency in this process “will continue now,” suggesting that “it is necessary to change the culture in the church in society” .
When asked about the treatment of abusive priests, José Ornelas admitted that it is necessary to take care not only of the abused people, but also of the rapists, otherwise “they are stray bombs.”
“For this, here in the country, we must be able to find solutions. This is one of the conditions that is agreed not only [para] bishops, but [para] religious congregations,” he said, referring to the fact that this is one of the specific items that is on the table, and that “it can be useful to other people and that this is important, especially in this case.”
University professor and former Bloc de Esquerda MP José Manuel Purez defended today that bishops should consider paying compensation to victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church whose testimony was made public by the Independent Commission.
“This is what the Church must face. This hypothesis cannot by any means be ruled out. In other situations, like the one in Portugal, other churches have accepted this measure of monetary reparation for the victims and their families. an opportunity because it is nothing more than a tool that must be mobilized by the Catholic Church,” he said in statements to Luce.
The Catholic Church’s Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse confirmed 512 of the 564 testimonies received, extrapolating to a minimum number of victims of 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, the period covered by the commission’s work.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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