Portugal’s Catholic Bishops announce independent commission on child sexual abuse

Members of the clergy participate in a procession marking the 104th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children at the Catholic shrine of Fatima, Portugal, May 12, 2021. REUTERS / Pedro Nunes / File Photo

LISBON, Nov. 11 (Reuters) – The Roman Catholic Church in Portugal announced Thursday that it will create an independent commission to investigate historic child sexual abuse allegedly committed by clergy as a result of the pressure exerted by eminent faithful to lift the veil of silence around the issue.

The Portuguese Episcopal Conference said in a statement that it had decided to create the commission to improve the way cases are handled and to “carry out a study to clarify the history of this serious problem”.

The announcement comes after a major report by an independent commission in France revealed last month that around 3,000 priests and religious leaders had sexually assaulted more than 200,000 children in the past 70 years. Read more

It was the latest blow to the Roman Catholic Church, which has been rocked by sexual abuse scandals around the world, often involving children, over the past 20 years.

In Portugal, more than 200 Catholics sent a letter to the Episcopal Conference earlier this month urging them to launch an investigation similar to that in France, arguing that child sexual abuse was a “systemic” problem “directly linked to it. to the exercise of power “within the church. .

Signatories to the letter said that in the past decade “just over 10 cases” of child sexual abuse by clergy have been reported in the country, but warned the number would likely be much higher.

Currently, the bishops of each of Portugal’s 21 dioceses are charged with investigating allegations of wrongdoing by members of the clergy, but there is no comprehensive oversight body.

In June, Pope Francis released the most comprehensive review of Catholic Church law in four decades, insisting that bishops take action against clerics who abuse minors and vulnerable adults. Read more

The members of the commission have not yet been appointed, the bishop of the city of Setubal, Jose Ornelas, told a press conference on Monday, adding that the commission and members of the investigative body would have “the independence to create their own process and methodology”.

“We are not afraid, quite the contrary,” he said.

The letter to the bishops, whose signatories included lawmakers, writers and other public figures, said the commission should include believers and non-believers, as well as social science and justice experts.

It is not yet clear how long the commission’s investigations will cover, but the letter’s signatories suggested it should cover five decades.

Reporting by Catarina Demony and Sérgio Gonçalves in Lisbon Editing by Aislinn Laing and Matthew Lewis

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