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Portuguese president accused of sex abuse remarks at church

Portugal’s president has been accused of appearing to make light of the sexual abuse of Catholic clergy.

After discovering members of the Catholic Church in Portugal had sexually abused more than 400 children, President Marcelo Rebelo de Souza said the number was insignificant.

“400 doesn’t seem like much because other countries with shorter investigation periods had thousands of cases,” he said.

The president’s remarks have been widely criticized. Some critics have accused him of lacking compassion.

Hours after making the comment, a statement posted on the president’s website attempted to explain what he meant by his remarks.

President de Souza said: “So far, given the sad truth that can happen both in Portugal and in the world, the total so far does not seem particularly high, so that more people have not come forward. We are sorry for the loss,” the website reported.

The post continued that the president hopes to continue the investigation and send evidence to the Attorney General’s Office.

The repercussions from de Sousa’s initial statement still cause uproar, including late-night live interviews with two national broadcasters. He made it clear on both these occasions that the incidents were “extremely serious.”

Prime Minister Antonio Costa came to the president’s aid, explaining that the president’s initial comments had been misunderstood.

Meanwhile, the Church Investigation Commission, which began its activities in January last year, is still urging victims to come forward.

Pedro Strecht, a psychiatrist who heads Portugal’s independent commission for the study of child abuse in the Catholic Church, said his commission compiled a list of 424 victims.

Before the commission began its work, church officials claimed there had been only a handful of abuse cases.

Established by the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference, the Commission investigates cases of abuse allegedly involving minors between the ages of 2 and 17 from 1950 to the present day.

We plan to publish the report on January 31, 2023.

So far, a “significant number” of Catholic priests and believers have been shown to have allegedly committed sexual abuse.

“The problems were not only present, they were widespread,” Strecht said.

The farther back his commission went back in time, the more they found “serious conditions which over the decades[and]reached truly endemic proportions in some places”.

Some abuse suspects have been named by multiple victims. Hundreds of abusers have been identified, Strecht said.

Portugal’s statute of limitations has expired on most of the claims. However, 17 complaints have been forwarded to Portugal’s attorney general’s office, and another 30 could still be sent, he said, Strecht.

All information about victims and suspected abusers is currently kept confidential.

The panel’s final report will include a confidential annex with the names of all suspected abusers. A copy will be sent to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference and the Police.

Strecht said the commission had no information about any abuses by foreign priests.

All Portuguese bishops were interviewed. Strecht praised the Portuguese Episcopal Conference for showing “pioneering courage” in preparing this study.

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https://cathnews.co.nz/2022/10/13/portugals-president-church-sex-abuse-revelations/ Portuguese president accused of sex abuse remarks at church

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