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2023

March 2023: Sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church
An independent commission has validated 512 testimonies of child sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church and estimated that (...)

  • March 2023: Sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church

An independent commission has validated 512 testimonies of child sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church and estimated that there are at least 4,300 other victims. The abuse occurred between 1950 and 2022.

The final report was released in February 2023, and results revealed that the number of males (57.2%) is significantly higher than females (42.2%), with a current average age of 52.4 years. Testimonies were collected from people living in Portugal (88.5%), mainly from Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Setubal, and Leiria (coastal cities). Fifty-three percent of victims are Catholic and 25.8% practising Catholics.

Most of these children were abused between the ages of 10 and 14, 58.3% of the abuse occurred between the 1960s and 1990s, and 21.9% of cases occurred since 1991. 57.2% of the testimonies mention that abuse occurred on several occasions, and 27.5% for over a year. The abusers are mainly men (96.9%), 77% of cases involve “the priest” (p. 9-10), and many of the abusers are still active in the church (p. 19).

Notwithstanding, as the Commission points out, “the systemic nature of the abuse does not, however, apply to Church as a whole, as it reflects the behaviour of a minority of its members. The concealment by the abusers themselves was systemic, as were those above them in the hierarchy who knew of their actions.” (p. 20)

The Commission referred 25 cases to the Public Prosecutor and suggests, among other issues, adjusting the statute of limitations by increasing the age limit of the child victim and speeding up the courts’ assessment and response. The Church emphasises the importance of recognising the existence and extent of the problem, the observance of the “zero tolerance” concept proposed by the Pope, and the “moral duty” to denounce cases of alleged crimes.

It was only on March 3 that Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) reacted. Some resistance and lack of diligence were observed in the discourse of Bishop José Ornelas, president of the CEP , as there was no commitment to immediately suspend clergy suspected of abusing minors. Similarly, the bishop of Lisbon, Manuel Clemente, stated that the Vatican could only arrest the suspected priests based on proven facts that are subject to contradiction.

Several sectors of society reacted to the Church’s position, including the President of the Republic. An immediate preventive suspension and compensatory measures (e.g., the financial compensation of the victims, as happened in France, Ireland, and Austria) were expected.

By their own decision and revealing some internal division of the Portuguese Church, the Bishop of the Azores and Archbishop of Évora suspended active priests suspected of sexually abusing minors.

The debate on what can be done, by the Church but also by civil society, in terms of prevention, compensation and reparation for victims is still ongoing.

Full Executive summary of the Commission for the study of child sexual abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church (in English)

D 13 March 2023    AHelena Vilaça AMaria João Oliveira

2022

May 2022: The Portuguese Catholic Church under Scrutiny for Sexual Abuse
In January 2022, an independent commission was created to investigate sexual abuse against children and adolescents (...)

  • May 2022: The Portuguese Catholic Church under Scrutiny for Sexual Abuse

In January 2022, an independent commission was created to investigate sexual abuse against children and adolescents that has occurred since 1950 in the Portuguese Catholic Church (darvozaosilencio.org).

The Commission was created at the invitation of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP). It is constituted by a group of five people from different professional areas: Pedro Strecht – Doctor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Ana Nunes de Almeida - Sociologist; Daniel Sampaio - Psychiatrist; Álvaro Laborinho Lúcio - Counsellor judge and writer; Filipa Tavares - Social Worker.

The commission has studied cases dating back to 1950, so some questions have been raised in the public debate about the cooperation of the Catholic Church in this process, namely because it is up to the bishops of each diocese to decide whether or not to provide access to the archives. It is recalled that in 2019 some bishops initially refused to create commissions for the protection of minors in their dioceses (bishops of Porto, Lamego and Santarém). This situation was later overcome.

Three months after the start of its activity, the independent commission had already gathered 326 valid witnesses, 16 of whom were referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office since the facts were not time-barred. In December 2022, a full report on this reality will be presented.

D 25 May 2022    AHelena Vilaça AMaria João Oliveira

2020

November 2020: On euthanasia The Assembly of the Republic has an ongoing debate on the law to decriminalise medically assisted death, after having approved, on February 20, five Bills on the (...)

  • November 2020: On euthanasia

 The Assembly of the Republic has an ongoing debate on the law to decriminalise medically assisted death, after having approved, on February 20, five Bills on the matter. The political parties are working now to reach a replacement “common text” on decriminalizing euthanasia, taking into account the Bills that have previously been approved. This common text will after be debated on the specialty.
Later, the law will be voted in parliament but some positions are already known: The People’s Party (CDS-PP) and the Communist Party are against it; and there are divisions in the Socialist Party (PS), as in the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
If approved, its entry into force will still depend on the promulgation by the President of the Republic.

 A popular initiative of a referendum on euthanasia, and signed by more than 95 thousand people, was rejected by the Assembly of the Republic on 23rd. October.

  • February 2020: Decriminalisation of euthanasia bills passed in the Portuguese parliament

As expected, in this new legislature (2019-2023) the Portuguese parliament started again discussing the decriminalization of euthanasia. This time, five bills to decriminalise medically assisted dying were brought up for debate by the Socialist Party (PS), the Liberal Initiative (new centre-right party), the Left Block (BE), the People-Animals-Nature party (PAN), and the Ecologist Party the Greens (PEV) - these last three left-wing.

All bills had very specific and very similar rules, namely regarding the fact that euthanasia is only possible when it concerns a definitive injury or incurable and fatal disease, and when it takes into account the degree of conscience and the intolerable suffering of the individual. They involve as well the decriminalization of those who practice euthanasia, and the guarantee of conscientious objection for doctors and nurses. The nuances concern issues such as the number of times the individual has to formalize the request, the constitution of the committee that evaluates the request, or the time the committee has to deliver its opinion.

The bills will now be debated at the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, and the political parties must negotiate to reach a “common text”. Once this common text will have been voted and approved, the proposal will go to the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic, which may promulgate it, veto it, or send it to the Constitutional Court in order to evaluate its constitutionality. Traditionally, when the law is passed in previous instances, the President approves.

Simultaneously, the discussion remains open in society, namely regarding the possibility of a referendum: on the verge of the approval of these bills – and contrary to what happened in May 2018 –, the Catholic Church expressed in a statement, and for the first time, its support for the holding of a referendum, as an initiative against the decriminalization of euthanasia. It also issued simultaneously an appeal to health professionals to avoid giving in to acts such as euthanasia, assisted suicide or the suppression of life.

Moreover, religious minorities – with greater visibility for the Evangelical Alliance – and civil society groups have come together to collect signatures requesting a referendum. An initiative that counts, among others, representatives of the Catholic Church.

D 17 November 2020    AHelena Vilaça AMaria João Oliveira

2018

November 2018: Euthanasia bills not approved
Four projects of law on euthanasia – medical assistance in dying, presented to the Portuguese parliament in May 2018, have not been approved. One (...)

  • November 2018: Euthanasia bills not approved

Four projects of law on euthanasia – medical assistance in dying, presented to the Portuguese parliament in May 2018, have not been approved. One of them, Project of Law 832/XIII/3.ª, from the Portuguese Socialist Party, failed approval by five votes (for: 110; against: 115; abstention: 4). This project of law intended, in particular, to “modify the 47th amendment to the Penal Code regulating the special circumstances for the practice of non-criminal euthanasia”. The religious communities legally recognized in Portugal have fought these proposals very actively. In addition to many public discussions and demonstrations, they presented for the first time a joint document against medical assistance in dying - Declaration of the Interreligious Religions-Health Working Group. However, despite the defeat, left-wing parties (and in particular, those who came forward with bills on euthanasia) want to re-discuss this issue, and possibly vote, during the next legislature (2019-2023).

  • October 2018: Appointment of the new Bishop of the Armed and Security Forces

On 27 October 2018, Pope Francisco appointed the new bishop of the Armed and Security Forces of Portugal, D. Rui Valério, age 53, succeeding D. Manuel Linda, who became Bishop of Porto (after the death of the former Bishop D. António Francisco dos Santos).
The military ordinariate has under its jurisdiction all the military faithful as well as those in the service of the armed forces, such as the security forces, i.e. the National Republican Guard and the Public Security Police.
The religious assistance service to the armed forces and security forces was regulated in 2009, following the Concordat signed in 2004 between Portugal and the Holy See, comprising the central chaplaincy and the religious assistance centres of the army. The central chaplaincy is an inter-religious body incorporated into the religious assistance service of the armed forces and security, which ensures “the regular operation of the assistance” and includes in its composition a principal chaplain, for each professed confession, who coordinates their religious assistance.

For more information: Moniz, Jorge Botelho (2017), “Military chaplaincy”.

  • February 2018: Euthanasia

Since 2015, Portuguese civil society and political parties have been discussing the issue of euthanasia – medical assistance in dying. Recently, a project of law has raised this issue once more (see Biolaw and the intimate, euthanasia). Project 773/XIII/3.ª – “Defines and regulates the conditions in which the anticipation of death, by decision of the person with final injury or incurable and fatal disease, and which is in during and unbearable suffering, is not punishable” (February 2018). This project of law was presented by Bloco de Esquerda (a Portuguese left-wing political party); it declares that the request for anticipation of death is the “free, serious and enlightened will of a person with final injury or incurable and fatal disease and in lasting and unbearable suffering”.

Whether euthanasia will be subject to a referendum or to the ordinary legislative process is still under discussion today.

  • February 2018: Right to gender self-determination

Project of law 242/XIII– “Recognizes the right to gender self-determination” (May 2017). This project of law, presented by Bloco de Esquerda (a Portuguese left-wing political party) recognizes the right to gender self-determination, namely of transsexual individuals, from the age of sixteen. This bill intends to eliminate the “abusive and threatening requirements” that offend “human dignity” in today’s procedure for the legal recognition of gender.

D 20 December 2018    AHelena Vilaça AJorge Botelho Moniz

2016

April 2016: Debate on euthanasia
On the 26th of April, a petition entitled “For the right to die with dignity” was presented to the Portuguese Parliament. The petition’s intent is to legalize (...)

  • April 2016: Debate on euthanasia

On the 26th of April, a petition entitled “For the right to die with dignity” was presented to the Portuguese Parliament. The petition’s intent is to legalize euthanasia in Portugal. It has collected by now more than eight thousand signatures. This subject is now to be discussed in the parliament agenda. A left-wing party (Bloco de Esquerda) has already stated its intention of presenting a draft law on the legalization of euthanasia before the end of the current legislature.

See: Divisão de Informação Legislativa e Parlamentar – DILP, Eutanásia e Suicídio Assistido. Legislação Comparada, avril 2016.

D 19 May 2016    AHelena Vilaça

2015

November 2015: Adoption for same-sex couples
The recently elected Portuguese parliament has approved a new legislation that will make adoption possible for same-sex couples. All left-leaning (...)

  • November 2015: Adoption for same-sex couples

The recently elected Portuguese parliament has approved a new legislation that will make adoption possible for same-sex couples. All left-leaning deputies, and 19 deputies from the center-right Social Democratic Party, backed this legislation. The previous law article that stated who was entitled to adopt was revised, and the gender specification was removed. The new law also extends access to assisted reproduction methods to same-sex couples.

The new parliament, now with a left-wing majority, has also revoked the previous amendments to the abortion law that required women to pay a fee, get psychological and social counselling as well as advice on family planning before terminating a pregnancy.

In 2013, the parliament had already legalized second-parent adoption for married same-sex couples who already had a child.

Adoption by same-sex couples remains a controversial issue in Portugal, a country where the Catholic Church still has a great impact.

Artigo 1979:
Quem pode adotar
1 — Podem adotar duas pessoas casadas há mais de quatro anos e não separadas judicialmente de pessoas e bens ou de facto, se ambas tiverem mais de 25 anos.
(Who can adopt
1 – Two people married for over four years, and who are not separated, neither legally, nor of property, nor in fact, are allowed to adopt if they both are more than 25 years old).

D 7 December 2015    AHelena Vilaça

2013

17 May 2013: Co-parental adoption by homosexual couples
The most recent debate in Portugal is about the co-parental adoption by homosexual couples. On 17 May this year – the International Day (...)

  • 17 May 2013: Co-parental adoption by homosexual couples

The most recent debate in Portugal is about the co-parental adoption by homosexual couples. On 17 May this year – the International Day Against Homophobia –, the parliament approved a draft law (n.º 278/XII) of the Socialist Party (PS) which allows homosexuals to co-adopt the biological or adopted children of the person with whom they are married or live in a domestic partnership. The subject divided the parliament with 99 votes in favour (deputies from the leftist parties – BE, PCP, PEV –, the majority of PS and 16 deputies from the social democratic party (PSD), that enabled the approval of the law), 94 against and 9 abstentions.

Meanwhile, in the public sphere, the debate has been the subject of several interventions. The main argument from the people in favour – mainly from a leftist wing and LGBT movements – is that this children and families already exist, they have the right to the recognition of their parental figures at all levels, in health, in education and in the event of the death of the only person who has been legally recognized. This movement is motivated by the decision of the European Court of Human Rights which condemned Austria for not allowing a case of co-parental adoption by two women, and the recent legislative change in France.

Against the draft law we must underline the intervention of the right wing parties, the main representative of lawyers in Portugal and the Portuguese Catholic Church. Based on biological and anthropological arguments, they defend that the co-parental adoption collides head-on with the fundamental right of a child to have a mother and a father, regardless of the rights of the adults. For the Catholic Church, according to the spokesman of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), “only a couple of a man and a woman have the objective anthropological structure for the harmonious education of a child”. The bishop of Braga even accused this draft law of being an argument to justify a “camouflaged marriage”, which is in fact the same-sex marriage. The law, in his perspective, “offends the dignity of the children” and “satisfies sectarian whims and scruples” of a group of people that “advocated very recently the abortion law”.

The draft law has now to be discussed by a specialised (especialidade) committee in the matter and approved by the President of the Republic. The president will need to meet high expectations coming from both sides because, despite being assumedly Catholic, he previously promulgated the law on abortion and marriage between same-sex people.

D 19 June 2013    AMaria João Oliveira

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