FáTIMA (PORTUGAL)
Portugal Resident [Lagoa, Portugal]
April 8, 2024
By Michael Bruxo
Portugal’s Roman Catholic bishops are meeting from Monday in Fátima, the country’s main site of pilgrimage, with the issue of compensation for victims of the sexual abuse of minors within the Church being among the central points on the agenda.
Between now and Thursday, this plenary assembly of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) is expected to finalise criteria for such compensation, based on a proposal prepared by the VITA Group, set up in the wake of a devastating report on abuse in the Church submitted by an earlier group of independent experts at the beginning of last year.
Up until last week, a total of 19 victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Portugal had expressed to the VITA Group their desire to be financially compensated for the damage they suffered. In all 86 situations of abuse were reported to the group.