Lisbon, Portugal—Pope Francis has said the “anguished cry” of victims of clerical sexual abuse must be heard as he began a visit to Portugal, where a recent report found thousands of cases spanning decades.
Addressing the clergy at Lisbon’s vast Jeronimos Monastery on Wednesday, the pontiff said some people viewed the Church “with disappointment and anger” due to “the scandals that have marred her face.”
These scandals “call us to a humble and ongoing purification, starting with the anguished cry of the victims, who must always be accepted and listened to,” he added.
A report released in February by an independent commission concluded that at least 4,815 children had been abused by clergy members, mostly priests, in Portugal since 1950.
The inquiry—similar to audits elsewhere in Europe and the Americas—concluded that the Church hierarchy had “systematically” tried to conceal the abuse.
Before those findings, top Portuguese church officials maintained there had been only a few such cases.
The results of the inquiry have tainted the institution in the Catholic-majority country and led the Portuguese Roman Catholic Church to apologize to the victims.
A July poll by Lisbon’s Catholic University of Portugal found 68 percent of all Portuguese felt the Church’s image had deteriorated.
According to the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference and a local organizing committee, Francis will meet abuse victims privately, though it has not yet been included in the official program.
A support group for victims has put up three large billboards in Lisbon close to places that will host events attended by the pope to denounce clerical sexual abuse.
The billboards read: “4,800+ children abused by the Catholic Church in Portugal.”
The pope, who was elected by his peers in 2013, has told bishops around the world they must adhere to a policy of “zero tolerance” for clergy who sexually abuse children.
He held an unprecedented summit on clerical sexual abuse the following year and has enacted reforms that include new obligations to report abuse and cover-ups. AFP