Bishops decide on compensation for victims of historic sexual abuse

Thousands of Portuguese children are believed to have been abused by Portuguese clergy

Years on from the shocking report that lifted the lid off the toxicity within the Portuguese Catholic Church, the Plenary Assembly of Portuguese Bishops has still not set any kind of compensation arrangements into action.

The topic is once again ‘on the agenda’ of the bishops’ conference – this latest starting today in Fátima, and running until Thursday.

As Lusa explains, this topic has been on the agenda since the bishops approved of the creation of a fund “with a contribution of solidarity from all dioceses” to financially compensate victims, who have continued to come forwards in the aftermath of the initial report.

The decision to set up the fund came in April this year, “after months of debate”. Even so, the process for claiming compensation is not an easy one. Some involved have said it is almost too complicated to think about. 

The process is based on submitting requests for compensation by December this year.

Applications must be made to the VITA Group – created by the bishops’ conference following the work of the Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse of Children in the Catholic Church, which validated 512 testimonies of cases that occurred between 1950 and 2022, pointing, by extrapolation, to a minimum number of 4,815 victims.

An evaluation commission will then determine the amounts of compensation to be awarded.

The methodology has been criticised particularly as it involves victims who have already recounted their horrors to the Independent Commission chaired by child psychiatrist Pedro Strecht having to go through it all over again…

Thus, according to Lusa today, the work of the bishops in Fátima today “may result in a change to the regulations for requesting and awarding financial compensation to victims”.

The VITA Group, for example, has already announced that it has proposed that the Church review ‘some aspects of this working instrument’.

Considering the Independent Commission’s findings came over two years ago, and many child victims are now well into adulthood, the Church’s sense of urgency in offering compensating is not instantly apparent. 

Source material: LUSA