Almost 5 thousand minors have been abused by priests in Portugal since 1950

A new revelation exposed thousands of child abuse cases from the Catholic Church. This time, in Portugal, a commission of inquiry revealed a report stating that Priests and other members of the Catholic clergy in the capital of this country have sexually abused at least 4,815 minors since 1950.

The investigation was commissioned in 2021 by the Portuguese church. Last October, a team of six experts, headed by child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, announced that he had recorded 424 legitimate testimonies from alleged victims but found that the total number was “much higher.”

“These testimonies allow us to establish a much broader network of victims, of at least 4,815”declared the child psychiatrist at a press conference in Lisbon, reported the AFP news agency.

On the other hand, Pope Francis plans to travel to the Portuguese capital in August for the World Youth Days. There they could meet with the victims, exactly recently the Auxiliary Archbishop of Lisbon, Américo Aguiar.

The most resonant cases of sexual abuse denounced against the Catholic Church

What does the report of the cases of abuse say?

The facts denounced reveal “serious situations that persisted for decades, which become more evident the further back one goes in time and which, in some places, have acquired endemic proportions“, concluded the team in October, during a first assessment. Most of the reported crimes prescribed, but 25 were apparently transmitted to the judicial authorities, which opened investigations.

One of those cases is that of Alexandra, a 43-year-old woman who prefers to remain anonymous. She was raped by a priest when she was preparing for the life of a nun at the age of 17.

“It is very difficult to talk about it in Portugall”, she explained. This is a country in which 80% of the population defines itself as Catholic. Now she is a mother, trained in computing and works as a kitchen assistant. “LShe had been keeping this secret for many years, but she felt that it was increasingly difficult to manage it alone.“, he tells during a telephone interview with the AFP agency.

She went so far as to denounce her attacker before the ecclesiastical authorities, but she felt “ignored”. Three years later, experts from the independent commission offered to listen to her and provide psychological support.

AR PC