The psychiatrist says “the bishops have many issues to act on” and asks Lisbon and Porto to take action.

Psychiatrist Daniel Sampaio opposed criticism of the existence of dead priests on the list of alleged rapists and assured the church “has a lot of questions,” hoping that the dioceses of Lisbon and Porto will remove the current priests.

“Perhaps there [sacerdotes falecidos]because it’s a very complex list and we’re talking about abuse between 1950 and 2022. This is not to say that it is not important and that the list is invalid, because the bishops know very well the names of the alleged offenders, and we know that the bishops know that we know. This in no way can call into question the appropriateness of the investigation,” said Lusa, a member of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church.

Daniel Sampaio said he noticed the “change in attitude” of the bishops after the position of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, highlighted the removal of the alleged offending priests in Angra, Évora, Guarda and Viseu and defended Lisbon and Porto who, for now only asked for more information – they should move in the same direction.

“We are ready to provide this information. There was a complete stoppage of decisions and nothing can be done, now the corresponding decisions are made by the bishops. They have a lot of information and complete freedom to know where the other is… Even if this happens, the bishops certainly have many questions that need to be addressed,” he said.

The psychiatrist expressed regret that the bishops of Lisbon and Porto did not immediately remove the alleged rapists, highlighting the information provided.

The Lisbon Patriarchate announced today that it has received a list of 24 suspected abusers, five of whom are active priests, while the Diocese of Porto has received a list of 12 suspects, seven of whom are active, promising to preemptively remove them from office if “they present credible evidence” crimes.

“Both the Bishops of Porto and Lisbon met with a group of historical researchers and have a lot of information about what they should do. If they don’t make that decision, it’s a decision problem. I’m really sorry. Porto. There is a lot of stuff they can do if they want to. And I think they should do it,” he said.

So far, dioceses have only removed five priests – almost a month after the report was released, on February 13 – Daniel Sampaio suggested he “expected more” from the Church. However, the member of the Independent Commission appreciates the initiative of the first dioceses in extracting consequences from the revelations of the document.

“Of course, I expected more, but the important thing is that at the moment things are being discussed and are working. We have lost time, but we have enough time to recover. The attitude of the bishops has changed. “, – he stressed, confirming the readiness of the Independent Commission to provide clarifications, but without violating the anonymity of the victims.

Regarding an interview with Expresso by Portuguese Episcopal Conference president José Ornelas, who suggested that last Friday’s intervention “didn’t go well”, the psychiatrist admits that the collaboration with the bishops’ leader has “always been excellent” and that it “has the potential to promote renewal” of the Church in regarding the problem of abuse.

The Catholic Church’s Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse verified 512 testimonies, extrapolating to at least 4,815 victims. Twenty-five cases were sent to the State Department, which opened 15 investigations, nine of which were closed.

The commission transmitted a list of the alleged rapists, some of whom were active, to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, which forwarded to the dioceses a decision to dismiss the priests suspected of rape and declined to award compensation to the victims.

JGO/JMR

Lusa/The End