The Catholic Church in Portugal is the latest in Europe to investigate historic cases of sex abuse. Here’s what others on the Old Continent have done.

After more than a year of interviews and investigations, Portugal’s independent commission on Church-related sexual violence against minors this week published the conclusions of its investigations. The report, which was released on Monday, looks at cases of abuse dating back to 1950.

Several other countries in Europe have already conducted similar investigations. But there are some who are still reluctant to do so. Here’s a quick look at the situation.

Portugal

In Portugal, the independent commission for the prevention of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults was set up by the Catholic bishops’ conference in November 2021.

Composed of qualified lay people and “some non-Catholics”, the commission collected more than 500 validated testimonies, although the revelations involve a total number of victims estimated…