Lisbon: More than 200 victims have testified before a commission of inquiry into sexual abuse at a Catholic church in Portugal. It is reported that 214 people appeared before the commission of inquiry and revealed their experiences. Many people testify before the commission online.
The investigation into the church-centric sexual harassment cases began a month ago. People born between 1933 and 2006 have come forward with allegations of torture. Complaints were raised from various parts of Portugal and from Portuguese citizens residing in other countries.
‘All these allegations indicate the suffering of a lot of people. Many of these have been hidden for decades. This is the first time many of them have broken their silence and come out, ”the commission of inquiry said.
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The commission began its investigation in early January 2022. The first commission was appointed by the Roman Catholic Church. The commission launched its investigation into a report released last year that more than 200,000 children had been sexually abused in Portugal by some 3,000 clerics and other religious leaders in the past 70 years.
However, Portuguese church officials have previously said that authorities have only investigated a dozen cases of persecution involving Portuguese priests since 2001.
More than half of the cases were dropped halfway through, citing insufficient evidence.
