This Tuesday, the PSD president defended brutal punishments for those responsible for the abuse of minors in the Catholic Church, whether criminal or not, and said he supports extending the statute of limitations for these crimes.
Questioned by journalists, on the sidelines of a Lisbon initiative on housing, Luís Montenegro said he was “completely shocked” by the revelations of the Independent Commission’s report, released on Monday.
“What happened is inexcusable and to that shock I add my belief that we must be ruthless in the criminal accountability that can still be held and ruthless even if there is no criminal process against all of them”he claimed.
On the other hand, the PSD leader appealed to “scrupulous respect for the protection of victims”, saying that “there is no human recipe for the atrocities” in the report.
“If measures are taken so that the statutes of limitations in criminal law can be extended, we will follow this evolution, we will make this reflection in the Assembly of the Republic. We can only encourage that there is no forgiveness for a behavior that is completely unacceptable”he claimed.
Asked if the statute of limitations can place us in the 30 years of the victims, as defended by the commission, Montenegro said he did not want to close any doors and said “it could be even more”. “I agree to extend the age at which this procedure does not expire”reconfirmed.
The Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church has received 512 validated testimonies related to 4,815 victims since it started its work in January 2022, its coordinator Pedro Strecht announced on Tuesday, who also referred to the commission to the Public Prosecution Service 25 cases.
President of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), José Ornelas, said on Tuesday that the report of the Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse in the Church “reflects a harsh and tragic reality: there were and there are victims of sexual abuse provoked by clergy”.
“We ask forgiveness from all the victims: those who gave their testimony courageously, kept silent for so many years, and those who still live with their pain in the depths of their hearts, without sharing it with anyone”he added.
Source: DN
