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In February 2023, the report of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse was published, which estimated that at least 4,800 children are believed to have been victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Portugal since 1950.
This Thursday, 26 March 2026, the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) and the Conference of Religious Institutes of Portugal (CIRP) announced the conclusion of the process of financial compensation for the victims, with more than €1.6 million paid to 57 people, according to a statement released by the Ecclesia agency.
“We acknowledge the seriousness of the suffering endured, so often borne in silence for years, we are truly grateful for the testimony you entrusted to us and we renew our request for forgiveness for all the harm caused”, the two bodies say in the joint statement.
In total, 95 applications for compensation were submitted, 78 of which were deemed eligible. To date, 57 cases have been approved, corresponding to an overall amount of €1.6 million, with individual compensation ranging from €9,000 to €45,000.
The CEP and CIRP stress in a note sent to Ecclesia that “the granting of financial compensation does not erase what happened nor does it remove the consequences of the abuse in the lives of those who suffered it”.
According to the same statement, nine cases are awaiting a decision from the Holy See on the amount to be awarded, while 11 applications were rejected.
The award of compensation was based on an individual assessment of each case, taking into account “the established facts, the seriousness of the abuse, the damage suffered and the causal link between the events and their consequences in the victim’s life”, in line with the criteria defined for this purpose.
The Catholic Church has already begun contacting and notifying all applicants whose cases were deemed valid.
The statement also underlines that the payment of compensation does not close the process or exhaust the Church’s responsibility. “We will remain available to welcome, listen to and support the victims, and we reaffirm our commitment to pursue a culture of accountability, care and prevention”, it adds.
Case shocked the country and shook the Church
In 2022, the Portuguese Episcopal Conference commissioned an independent study into sexual abuse in the Church in Portugal in recent decades. The commission validated 512 testimonies from victims.
The final report, published in February 2023, indicated a minimum of 4,800 victims since 1950, in a sample that includes people aged between 15 and 88. As many of the abuses took place several decades ago, most of the cases had already exceeded the legal time limits for prosecution by the time they were disclosed.
In May 2023, the CEP set up Grupo Vita, a body tasked with receiving complaints, promoting prevention and providing support to victims and perpetrators.
That same year, Portugal hosted World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, which was attended by Pope Francis who did not shy away from the issue and even met some of the victims behind closed doors.
“We again express our gratitude to all those who agreed to take part in this process. Your testimony honours the truth and holds the Church to account, preventing it from looking away, forgetting or stepping back from its duty to change”, the CEP and CIRP note concludes.
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