Pedro Strecht, the coordinator of the commission, offered a few words about the revelation of the abuses: “We want to pay a sincere tribute to those who were abused during their childhood.”
“It is not possible to quantify the total number of crimes. Most of the perpetrators were priests and most of the victims were men,” he added.
In turn, the church announced that it is prepared to take the corresponding measures in relation to the abuses. In fact, from the coordination headed by Pedro Strecht plan to identify abusers who are still active.
Most of the abusers were men and priests
Victims of the Portuguese Catholic Church, according to the report, were abused mostly by men (96%) and priests (77%). The situations were generated in any context: seminaries, church offices, confessionals, parish houses, shelters, schools or sports institutions.
53% of abused people are children who at the time ranged from 10 to 14 years old. The majority today is around 52 years old and around 20% are in their 40s.
The areas identified with the highest incidence of abuses perpetrated by the Catholic Church are Lisbon, Porto and Bragawhere the victims corresponded to any type of class or social stratum.
The president of the Episcopal Conference of Portugal (CEP), José Ornelas, spoke of “zero tolerance” and called for “Sorry to all the victims.” The bishop also urged all parts of the Portuguese church to show concern about the disclosure of abuses and violations.
Source: Ambito
