Hours after stating that in his opinion the 424 complaints that the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church “may not be a particularly high number”, the president of the republic has twice upheld in a short space of time. , at the beginning of the night of this Tuesday. The first, in a short note published on the Presidency website; the second, in statements to RTP.
In the note, Marcelo wrote that, as in other countries, the number of cases in Portugal could be “much higher”. On TV the statements were sharper, with the president saying that the intention was not to devalue the charges, quite the contrary.
“These 424 cases are greatly appreciated by those who have had the courage to press charges. I think it is short. I am convinced that many more will follow,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. Something that is also the belief of the Independent Commission.
“Even compared to countries that are not Catholic and that do not have the weight of the Catholic Church, and that have reached thousands of cases… that there may have been cases that happened during the Estado Novo: ‘We have the problem here that some are under dictatorship, and in others people are afraid, afraid, self-restraint”.
Therefore, when he said “not to be high”, he continued the number of 400 cases “is not devaluation”. “To think that my expectations were unfortunately much higher. It seems short for what I think the phenomenon was in Portugal and in the world,” he said.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, known for his Catholic faith – which he never hid – refused to let this determine his view on these matters, although this is already the third time he has had to clarify statements on the subject. “Do you think faith affects the mandate when the president takes a complaint from the chief bishop and signs it for the head of the Civil House to immediately pass it on to the prosecution? Surely there will be no cases, even fewer Catholic countries, instances where this happens.”
And regarding the criticism of the parties, the president prefers to devalue: “I don’t feel uneasy. That’s what democracy is. Only those who are a dictator or want a dictatorship feel uneasy. way”.
Source: DN
