Judging by the reactions of the public, from the most diverse sectors, Catholic or not, last Friday’s press conference where the president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), Bishop José Ornelas, explained what the hierarchy will do with the conclusions of the commission that investigated the abuse of minors in the Catholic Church.
“I can’t remove someone from the ministry just because someone came along and said, ‘This gentleman abused someone.’ But who said that, in what place, where? Removing him from the ministry is a serious matter.”
The general tone is one of reproach at the failure to immediately remove members of the clergy suspected of abusing minors. The CEP received a list of names from the committee headed by Pedro Strecht – who also sent the committee to the MP – but promised to send it only to the dioceses so they could learn more about it. “I can’t remove someone from the Ministry just because someone came along and said, ‘This gentleman abused someone.’ But who said it, where, where? Removing him from the Ministry is a serious matter,” explained the president of the KEP. Ornelas and the hierarchy are also heavily criticized for rejecting the idea that the church should compensate the victims: this should be the responsibility of the abusers.
“If we have facts, and facts that are proven and subject to contradiction, of course – we are in a land of laws and laws – that can only be done by the Holy See, it is not something that a bishop can do for himself doing. .”
This Sunday, at the end of the afternoon, Manuel Clemente, Patriarch Bishop of Lisbon, finally poured more gasoline on the fire, saying that even the bishops cannot suspend suspected priests, only the Vatican: “This is a very severe punishment, it is the most serious thing the Holy See can give and it is the Holy See that can give it.” Or in other words: “If we have facts, and proven facts and are subject to adversarial procedures, of course – we are in a country of laws and laws – that can only be done by the Holy See, it is not something that a bishop can do for yes.”
“Huge Insult”
In the party universe there are also criticisms – although for now most parties, starting with those of the “centrão” (PS and PSD), remain silent. Prior to the CEP press conference, it was known that Chega wanted to hear the patriarch of Lisbon in parliament and the PSD wanted to hear the committee led by Pedro Strecht.
“Asking for forgiveness is not enough. We learned that the aid announced was essentially an inconsistent memorial; spiritual, psychological and psychiatric support when at least the same amount of investment in World Youth Day was expected to start well away from the creation of a fund to compensate the victims.”
The most indignant voice was that of Catarina Martins. “Huge insult” – this is how the (still) leader of the Bloco de Esquerda described the behavior of the Portuguese bishops: “I cannot explain how it is possible that the bishops thought they could hold that press conference, that they did not realize that the enormous insult to all Catholic people in this country.” “If the Church wants to close its eyes, the country cannot close its eyes. And it needs a new independent commission and an independent commission that gives security to the victims to file their complaints. And also gives security to the country, that by protecting the victims and drawing consequences from what happened, he is also able to expose the terrible cover-ups that the Catholic Church has done and continues to do,” he added.
Livre also issued a statement: “Asking for forgiveness is not enough. We learned that the aid announced was essentially an unimportant memorial; spiritual, psychological and psychiatric support when at least the same value of the investment made on World Youth Day was expected. to establish a fund to compensate the victims.”
And the promise remained: “We will accompany the initiatives, in the review and extension of the statute of limitations for crimes of sexual abuse, in particular of minors, initiatives to create mechanisms for psychological support and follow-up of the survivors of these crimes , increasing funding for this support and strengthening plans for information and the fight against sexual abuse, establishing permanent helplines and dedicated services in the SNS; aligning with community institutions already on the ground, and establishing a analogous multidisciplinary commission, to continue the work that has now begun on the subject of sexual abuse of minors in the community and, above all, on its prevention.”
Source: DN
