The criteria for determining the amount are still being developed
Portugal:
Portugal’s Catholic Church said on Thursday it would financially compensate victims of child sex abuse within the church, with payments determined on a case-by-case basis, a move criticized by survivor groups.
Members of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) have been meeting since Monday at the Fatima Shrine in central Portugal to discuss issues such as reparations.
A report released in February 2023 by a church-funded Portuguese commission found that at least 4,815 minors had been sexually abused by clergy, mainly priests, over seven decades.
The report’s authors said their findings were just the “tip of the iceberg,” with committee chairman Pedro Strecht adding that more than 100 priests suspected of child sex abuse were still active in the church.
The following month, the church announced some measures to address child sexual abuse but was heavily criticized for not taking tougher measures.
CEP president Bishop Jose Ornelas said the organization’s General Assembly unanimously approved the compensation, which was requested between June and December this year. Twenty-one people have requested compensation.
Ornelas said the commission would then determine the amount to be provided to each victim, and the newly created CEP fund would be used to make the payments.
The criteria for determining the amount are still being developed, Ornelas said, explaining that a maximum amount has not yet been set and will take into account the seriousness of the case.
Antonio Grosso, co-founder of Coracao Silenciado (Silent Heart), a group for survivors of church sexual abuse, criticized the CEP’s case-by-case approach.
“I don’t know what measuring tape they are going to use to assess people’s pain, people are going to have to tell their stories again to see if they deserve more or less money,” he told Reuters, thinking all victims All should receive the same compensation.
Grosso also said CEP should be proactive and engage directly with victims rather than wait for them to demand compensation.
“By waiting for requests, CEP is demonstrating a passive attitude,” Grosso said. “We are not beggars.”
The sex abuse scandal has rocked the Catholic Church in many other countries, including the United States, Ireland and France.
In neighboring Spain, the church said in November it would compensate victims of sexual abuse even if cases were not closed because the criminal priest was dead, a reversal from its previous position on the matter.
Ornelas said compensation would also be provided to the Portuguese victims who accused the now-dead priest.
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