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Pope Francis is surrounded by faithful as he leaves Jeronimos Monastery after Vespers

Photo: Gregorio Borgia / dpa

At the beginning of his five-day visit to Portugal, Pope Francis met with victims of sexual abuse by clergy. The pontiff received 13 victims at the Holy See's diplomatic mission in the capital, Lisbon, the Vatican said. The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, took place in an atmosphere of "intensive listening," it said.

According to a report published in February by an independent commission, at least 4815 children of members of the Church, mainly priests, have been abused in Portugal since the fifties. According to the investigations, the Church "systematically" tried to cover up the abuse.

Addressing clergy at the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon, the Pope said the sexual abuse scandals had "damaged" the Catholic Church and caused "disappointment and anger," and called for "humble and constant purification."

"We have to fight every single case"

Francis had already set up a child protection commission in the Vatican shortly after taking over the pontificate in 2014. In the new Vatican Constitution of this year, the body is part of the new Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. It reports directly to the Pope.

  • You can read about the background to the committee's problems here: What is going wrong in the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Children?

In 2019, the Pope had introduced a worldwide reporting obligation for cases of abuse. He said at the time that Catholic dioceses around the world would have to set up "one or more permanent and publicly accessible" points of contact for advertisements by June next year at the latest.

In an interview, Francis had made his position on abuse by priests clear in drastic terms: "We have to fight every single case. As a priest, I have to help people grow and save them. If I abuse, I kill them. That's terrible. No tolerance«.

The 87-year-old Argentinian travelled to Portugal on the occasion of World Youth Day. Around one million visitors from all over the world are expected to attend the international meeting in Lisbon. The programme ranges from cultural events and debates to prayer sessions and masses.

The Pope has planned eleven public appearances and numerous meetings for his five-day visit. On Saturday, he will visit the Shrine of Fatima, north of Lisbon. On Sunday, he will hold the closing service of World Youth Day in a park on the outskirts of Lisbon.

oka/AFP