Catholic Church to pay €1.6 million to abuse victims but says payments 'do not erase past'

Published on 26/03/2026 - 15:08 GMT+1

In February 2023, the study of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse was published, which estimated that at slightest 4,800 children are believed to person been victims of intersexual abuse wrong the Catholic Church successful Portugal since 1950.

This Thursday, 26 March 2026, the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) and the Conference of Religious Institutes of Portugal (CIRP) announced the decision of the process of fiscal compensation for the victims, with more than €1.6 cardinal paid to 57 people, according to a connection released by the Ecclesia agency.

“We admit the seriousness of the suffering endured, truthful often borne successful soundlessness for years, we are genuinely grateful for the grounds you entrusted to america and we renew our petition for forgiveness for each the harm caused”, the 2 bodies accidental successful the associated statement.

In total, 95 applications for compensation were submitted, 78 of which were deemed eligible. To date, 57 cases person been approved, corresponding to an wide magnitude of €1.6 million, with individual compensation ranging from €9,000 to €45,000.

The CEP and CIRP accent successful a enactment sent to Ecclesia that “the granting of fiscal compensation does not erase what happened nor does it region the consequences of the maltreatment successful the lives of those who suffered it”.

According to the aforesaid statement, 9 cases are awaiting a determination from the Holy See connected the magnitude to beryllium awarded, portion 11 applications were rejected.

The grant of compensation was based connected an idiosyncratic appraisal of each case, taking into relationship “the established facts, the seriousness of the abuse, the harm suffered and the causal nexus betwixt the events and their consequences successful the victim’s life”, successful enactment with the criteria defined for this purpose.

The Catholic Church has already begun contacting and notifying each applicants whose cases were deemed valid.

The connection besides underlines that the payment of compensation does not adjacent the process oregon exhaust the Church’s responsibility. “We volition stay disposable to welcome, perceive to and enactment the victims, and we reaffirm our committedness to prosecute a civilization of accountability, attraction and prevention”, it adds.

Case shocked the state and shook the Church

In 2022, the Portuguese Episcopal Conference commissioned an independent survey into intersexual maltreatment successful the Church successful Portugal successful caller decades. The committee validated 512 testimonies from victims.

The last report, published successful February 2023, indicated a minimum of 4,800 victims since 1950, successful a illustration that includes people aged betwixt 15 and 88. As galore of the abuses took spot respective decades ago, astir of the cases had already exceeded the ineligible clip limits for prosecution by the clip they were disclosed.

In May 2023, the CEP acceptable up Grupo Vita, a assemblage tasked with receiving complaints, promoting prevention and providing enactment to victims and perpetrators.

That aforesaid year, Portugal hosted World Youth Day (WYD) successful Lisbon, which was attended by Pope Francis who did not shy distant from the contented and adjacent met immoderate of the victims down closed doors.

“We again explicit our gratitude to each those who agreed to instrumentality portion successful this process. Your grounds honours the information and holds the Church to account, preventing it from looking away, forgetting oregon stepping backmost from its work to change”, the CEP and CIRP enactment concludes.