VITA Group says there is “still a way to go” in terms of public trust in the Church

The VITA Group coordinator believes the Portuguese Catholic Church still has a way to go to regain public trust after decades of sexual abuse that was revealed in 2023.

In his statements to Lusa Rute, Agulhas highlighted the Church’s evolution in addressing sexual abuse since it joined the Lisbon Diocesan Commission in 2019. The psychologist, who now leads the VITA group and monitors victims of sexual abuse in the church context, admitted, however, that it has been a “slow process” for the Church and its structures, which, she said, are still moving at different speeds on the issue.

“Today I continue to believe that there is still a way to transfer this trust to society,” noted the group’s coordinator, emphasizing interaction with various church organizations and, above all, working with diocesan commissions so that they can win the trust of victims.

“Gradually, the diocesan commissions are managing to convey to the community the image of autonomy. The fact that they no longer include representatives of the clergy, as was the case in the initial stage, was also an important step, which helps here to make a slight distinction between the Church and specific commissions, because the commissions include the same professionals as we are: doctors , psychologists, psychiatrists, judges, former justice inspectors,” he continued.

According to the coordinator, the majority of people contacting the VITA group still indicate their distrust of the Church.

“If the Church were seen as an unreliable structure with a policy and practice of concealment, the diocesan commissions would also be a mirror of this same structure,” he said, emphasizing that Church structures are now turning to the group for help.

The psychologist also said that by Thursday, VITA had received 79 requests for help from victims of sexual abuse, both minors and vulnerable adults, in the Catholic Church.

“We have 79 calls for help. On Monday, when we made the announcement, we had 71 cases, now we have 79. The number of follow-up processes remains the same because these eight processes received since the beginning of the week are still in the service planning stage,” he explained .

The figures reflect a sharper increase since the interim report in December, when there were requests for help from 64 victims, but especially since Monday as the year since the Independent Commission’s report into abuse was soon completed. in the church and announcing the presentation of a proposal for compensation to victims.

“There were three booms in requests for help: at the very beginning, in May, when we opened a telephone line; then it picked up again in August when we had World Youth Day and Pope Francis; and now, this week, with a public announcement also that the Portuguese Episcopal Conference has asked us to provide a proposal on how processes for financial reparations can be developed,” he noted.

Grupo VITA, established in April 2023, can be contacted via its hotline (915090000) or via the registration form on the website www.grupovita.pt.

VITA grew out of the work of the Independent Commission into Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, led by pediatric psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, which over the course of nearly a year verified 512 cases that occurred between 1950 and 2022. indicating for extrapolation a minimum number of victims of 4815 people.