The Catholic Church has not yet disclosed consequences for abused priests.

Data relating to the suspension and removal of priests following allegations of sexual abuse by Grupo Vita is already in the possession of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), but has not been published with the group’s report.

At a press conference in Lisbon on Tuesday, Grupo Vita presented a report on its activities, announcing that in the first six months it reported 16 cases of sexual violence in Lisbon to the Ministry of State (MP) and the Judicial Police (JP). context of abuses in the Catholic Church, as well as a total of 45 cases involving church structures, but the consequences of these accusations have not yet been disclosed.

“How many priests have been removed from office, removed from office, canonical punishment applied (…) The CEP already has these elements and will reveal them in due time. We felt that this would not really be the right time because now is the time to present a report and a guide to best practices,” Paula Margarido, president of the National Coordination Group of Diocesan Commissions, said at a news conference.

Paula Margarido made this statement following a response from CEP President Bishop José Ornelas, who was asked twice about the consequences for convicted priests but did not provide a clarifying answer.

According to the framework document created by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) to monitor victims of sexual abuse, in addition to the 16 situations referred to the authorities for investigation (cases in which the person reported had already died or a trial was ongoing), 45 cases were reported also reported to structures associated with the Church, of which 27 were reported to diocesan commissions.

The report from the group, coordinated by psychologist Rute Agulhas, states that between May 22 and November 30, 278 telephone calls were received, covering not only cases of sexual abuse in the church, but also other forms of abuse and incidents not related to the mission of Grupo Vita. Statistics show that 25% of calls received occurred in May, in the first week of operation of this structure.

Through telephone contacts and the website, 64 victims and one person (a lay person) allegedly committed sexual offenses in the context of the Church were identified, a situation that had previously been reported to the criminal and canonical justice system and subject to referral for psychological support from a professional from the specialist pool , created by the Vita group.

To date, 18 victims have been referred for psychological support, two for mental health support, four for social support, one for legal support and four for financial support.

Grupo Vita can be contacted via its hotline (91 509 0000) or through the registration form, now available on the website www.grupovita.pt.

Created in April within the framework of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, it is an impartial, autonomous and independent body whose purpose is to welcome, listen to, monitor and prevent situations of sexual abuse against children and vulnerable adults in the context of the Catholic Church.

Grupo Vita arose from the work of the Independent Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, headed by pediatric psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, which over the course of almost a year confirmed 512 testimonies of cases occurring between 1950 and 2022, indicating that to extrapolate to to a minimum number of victims of 4815 people.