Portugal speaks out about church sexual abuse scandal

It was claimed that at least 4,815 children in Portugal were sexually abused in the Catholic Church.

The Independent Commission, coordinated by Pedro Strecht, completed its report on allegations of sexual abuse of children under 17 years of age in the Portuguese Catholic Church since 1950 and shared it with the public.

The commission reported that as part of its work it took the statements of 512 witnesses and that at least 4,815 children were sexually abused by religious officials working in Catholic Church institutions.

The head of the commission, Strecht, who is a child psychiatrist, told a news conference that “it is not possible to arrive at the total number of victims.” saying.

Strecht claimed that some children were abused more than once, adding that most of the victims were children and that 77 percent of sexual abuses were committed by priests.

The Independent Commission announced that, taking into account the evidence at its disposal, only 25 cases were brought before the Portuguese courts.

The Commission also accused the president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, José Ornelas, of trying to cover up the investigation into allegations of sexual abuse opened by the Prosecutor’s Office.

Ornelas testified last October on the basis that he was trying to shut down the investigation into Church officials in the alleged incidents of sexual abuse in Mozambique.

While allegations of sexual harassment in the Catholic Church have been put on the agenda in many countries in recent years, the Independent Commission in France reported that 216,000 children have been victims of sexual abuse in churches in the last 70 years. (AA)