Abuses? Meeting with Commission debated work of the Portuguese Church
The president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), José Ornelas, reaffirmed today, for the Portuguese Church, the principle of "zero tolerance" advocated by Pope Francis in the fight against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
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País Abusos na Igreja
José Ornelas participated today, with other Portuguese bishops, in a meeting with members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (CPPM), to, according to the Ecclesia agency, share the "experience of the journey" made in Portugal and learn about the work carried out "in the global context of the Church".
At the end of the meeting, the also bishop of Leiria-Fátima stressed that "there is no place for abusers" in the Church and that "zero tolerance must be very well thought out to be effective".
"That is what we are trying to do, with capable people, with the goodwill of all, but we have to work together so that the Church is truly what it is called to be: a caregiver of fragilities and in its midst there is no place for abusers", added the president of the CEP at the end of the meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the 'ad limina' visit program that the Portuguese Catholic bishops made this week to the Vatican.
According to José Ornelas, "the Church is safe, but it must constantly adapt its security measures to the different cultural contexts, to the different situations in which we find ourselves".
"In Portugal, that is what we are trying to do", he stressed, quoted by Ecclesia.
The CEP received, in February 2023, a report from the Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse of Children in the Catholic Church in Portugal, which validated 512 testimonies, out of a total of 564 received, relating to cases that occurred between 1950 and 2022.
After the end of the work of this commission, the episcopate created the VITA Group, to monitor situations of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults.
Read Also: Portuguese bishops presented to the Pope the work done in the fight against abuse (Portuguese version)
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