Rute Agulhas, coordinator of the Grupo Vita set up to hear victims of historic sexual abuse by Catholic priests, has stressed that such abuses “are not a thing of the past”. There are reports of ‘new abuses’ – incidents that allegedly took place after the scandal broke in Portugal, and efforts started being made to ‘clear the Church’ of serial abusers and bring closure (and compensation) to the many victims.
Grupo Vita’s latest report (chronicling activity in 2025) states that “power asymmetries persist, distorted perceptions of the figure of a priest, cultural resistances that make it difficult to denounce abusers and effectively protect children, vulnerable adults and (abuse) survivors”.
Grupo Viva has been working to support victims and see them receive compensation since 2023.
In that time, members have received around 850 telephone calls in which they were able to identify 154 people who were victims of Church abuse, or survivors. Of this number, 95 have asked for financial compensation. These were later ‘whittled down’ through interviews with Grupo Vita staff to 75, which have now been passed to the Church for the eventual sum of financial compensation to be attributed.
This has been an agonisingly-slow form of the Catholic Church showing its ‘repentance’ for historic sexual abuse which has been going on for decades. And the Church has not yet compensated anyone.
Grupo Vita meantime is available to continue working, but the Church has said it is ‘evaluating’ whether to continue its functions.
Certainly, the 2025 report would suggest that Grupo Vita is still needed. The text refers to “the absence of uniform structures, the lack of consistent accountability mechanisms, and the fragilities in articulation between and with diocesan committees and religious institutes (which) demonstrate that the system of protection has still not reached the necessary maturity to function autonomously and effectively.
“There is a deeply-rooted idea, in determined contexts, that priests are morally superior and that we cannot contradict them,” the report continues – stressing that abuses found by Grupo Vita, as recently as 2023, “are not just of a sexual nature”, but also hierarchical and/ or work-related.
Observador adds that Rute Agulhas and other elements of Grupo Vita “also lament the persistent perception that victims and survivors lie or exaggerate undermines active listening and recognition of their traumatic experiences. For the members of the group created by the Portuguese bishops, this discredit can manifest itself through doubt, minimisation or blame, creating an environment hostile to disclosure.”
Source: Correio da Manhã/ Observador/ Lusa
