Chega President Andre Ventura said this Friday that child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is a “cancer” that must be fought.
Speaking to reporters at the Palacio de Belen at the end of an audience with the President of the Republic, Chega’s leader was asked to comment on a case of ill-treatment by a priest that was reported to the Cardinal Patriarch but not reported to the Cardinal Patriarch. judicial authorities. .
“The news I saw yesterday disturbed me greatly, especially as there was the slightest suspicion or possibility that religious leaders might try to keep this phenomenon from justice,” he said, defending that “it is the duty of all Catholics to condemn these situations.” “. “.
And he stated that if he were a cardinal-patriarch, “he would have reported” this case “to the court, even against the will of the victim”, indicating that he sees no “reasons” for the previous and current patriarch “to hide anything.” from justice in relation to sexual abuse of children”.
“We have to end child sexual abuse and that in the Church is a cancer” that “should be completely annulled,” Ventura emphasized, emphasizing that “it hurts who it hurts, it’s a cancer that must end in our life.” society” because “it leaves traces for life and must end.”
President Chega said that “on a global level there is a problem in the Church” and this institution “should have the power not only to condemn, but also to send it to court.”
Considering that “the Church cannot become isolated in this matter” and “can carry out its analysis and prevention”, André Ventura defended that “these investigations should be carried out by the state ministry and the judicial police” because they are those who have “the tools , the mechanisms and the way to do it”.
And he pointed out that Chega advocates “chemical castration for pedophiles, for everyone, whether they are religious or not.”
The leader of the far-right party also mentioned that he was a seminarian, and, starting his answer, he took a rosary from his pocket and said that he prayed today “precisely because of this”, for the Cardinal Patriarch and “for what happened in the Church.”
Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon Manuel Clemente assured today that “from the very beginning” he gave instructions in the Patriarchate “to make zero tolerance and full transparency the rule known to all” regarding the abuse of minors.
In an open letter in which he seeks to make clear that he “was a witness” in the case of a priest accused of abuse, reported in 1999 to former Patriarch José Policarpo and published this week by the Observador newspaper, which reports that “two decades later” the current patriarch met with the victim “who did not want to solve the case” so the judiciary was not informed – Manuel Clemente says he agrees that “this case and others that are public knowledge and that have been dealt with in the past are not comply with the standards and recommendations that “everyone wants” to see implemented today.
According to Manuel Clemente, his predecessor “accepted and considered the case under consideration, taking into account the canonical and civil recommendations of the time and the dialogue with the victim’s family. The priest was removed from the parish where he was and assigned to serve as a hospital chaplain.”
The Cardinal also understands that it is not “until the re-denial of what was done in 1999. If this were the case, then it would have been sent to the diocesan commission established at that time, and all the procedures recommended at that time would have been carried out.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
