On Tuesday, the SDP president defended ruthless punishments for perpetrators of abuse of minors in the Catholic Church, whether criminal or otherwise, and said he supported extending the statute of limitations for these crimes.
Asked by reporters on the sidelines of the Lisbon housing initiative, Luis Montenegro said he was “totally appalled” by the revelations of the Independent Commission’s report released on Monday.
“Everything that has happened is unforgivable, and to this shock I add my conviction that we must be adamant about the criminal liability that can still be brought, and unforgiving, even if there is no criminal process against all of them,” he said.
On the other hand, the SDP leader called for “scrupulous respect for the protection of victims”, stating that “there is no human recipe for the atrocities contained in the report”.
“If steps are taken to extend the statute of limitations in criminal law, we will follow this evolution, we will make it reflected in the Assembly of the Republic. We can only encourage that there is no forgiveness for behavior that is completely unacceptable,” he said.
Asked if the statute of limitations could put us in 30 years of victims, as the commission defends, Montenegro said he didn’t want to close any door, saying “maybe even more.”
“I agree with the extension of the age at which this procedure does not stop,” he confirmed.
The Independent Commission on Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church has received 512 confirmed testimonies concerning 4,815 victims since it began its work in January 2022, coordinator Pedro Strecht said on Tuesday, who also cited that the commission sent to the State Ministry 25 cases.
Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) President José Ornelas said on Tuesday that the report of the Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse in the Church “reflects the harsh and tragic reality that there have been and are victims of sexual abuse instigated by clerics.”
“We ask for forgiveness from all the victims: those who courageously testified, kept silent for so many years, and those who still live with their pain in the depths of their souls, not sharing it with anyone,” he added.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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