Next Thursday, the Catholic Church will hold a National Day of Prayer for Victims of Abuse, and Portuguese bishops will celebrate Mass in Fatima, with the victims and their families at the center of the ceremony.
José Ornelas, president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), acknowledged at the opening of the plenary assembly of the episcopate on Monday that the cases of sexual abuse of minors that took place in the church were “a painful journey for everyone.”
Also, the bishop of Leiria-Fatima asked “all the clergy and faithful to join in the Eucharist” next Thursday, which will mark the end of the plenary session of the episcopate and is scheduled for 11:00 in the Basilica of the Most Holy Theotokos. The Holy Trinity.
In the Universal Prayer for this Eucharist, published by CEP on Tuesday, “people who have been victims of any kind of violence are mentioned so that they can find in the risen Christ the healing of their wounds and the courage for a new life.” , as well as “family members and friends who accompany victims of abuse to provide comfort and a safe environment and help restore human dignity.”
The CEP Plenary Assembly, which is taking place in Fatima, has on its agenda the approval of the establishment of a Monitoring Group for Victims, to be chaired by psychologist Ruthe Agulhas, and which will provide some degree of continuity to the work carried out by the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church, which submitted its final report on 13 February.
Within almost a year, the Independent Commission, led by child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, confirmed 512 of the 564 testimonies received, pointing by extrapolation to a minimum number of victims of about 4,815 people.
Twenty-five cases were reported to the prosecutor’s office, which opened 15 investigations, nine of which have already been archived and six are still under investigation.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.
Following these results, some dioceses cautiously removed some priests from their ministry.
Opening the work of the plenary assembly of the episcopate, José Ornelas stated that “in order to welcome and closely accompany the victims of abuses that have taken place in the church environment, an escort group has been created”, which “should have the necessary autonomy to welcome and accompany the victims and provide the necessary support and possible recovery from the damage done to them, having a line of service and facilities for personal contact and follow-up.”
“This will also be coordinated with the National Coordinating Group and the diocesan commissions to ensure its real work, in which every diocese and the Church in Portugal as a whole necessarily participate,” he added.
By Thursday, the bishops will vote on a constitution and a draft of a new body, “which should take effect in the coming weeks,” José Ornelas added.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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