Pope Francis will visit Portugal next week, where a scandal that erupted earlier this year over Catholic Church sex abuse is still simmering. A panel of experts reported in February that at least 4,815 Portuguese boys and girls had been abused since 1950.
Francis will also visit the shrine at Fatima, a rural Portuguese town that is one of the Catholic Church’s most popular pilgrimage destinations. In 1917, three Portuguese shepherd children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary above a tree there, a singular event of 20th century church history.
Anne Barrett Doyle of BishopAccountability.org, a U.S. group that maintains an online archive on abuse in the Catholic Church, said Portugal’s bishops had expected the independent commission would help them restore trust by revealing the history of abuse and cover-up while allowing them to “apologize, give assurances of reform, and move on.”
He and other officials also remarked that under Portuguese law, the perpetrator is liable for any compensation payments — not the institution to which that person belongs. That comment irked the experts, who said they took pains to ground their findings and provide supporting documentation, including witness statements admissible in court.
Grosso’s personal journey has taken him from would-be priest studying as a child at a Portuguese seminary to co-founder of the first church sex abuse victim association in Portugal. As a child, he says, he enjoyed Mass so much that he re-enacted it at home.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Pope Francis’s Peace Envoy Comes to WashingtonJoe Biden’s recent meeting with Pope Francis’s special envoy suggests that, 17 months into the war, the President recognizes the prospect of peace negotiations, with Ukraine, Russia, the U.S., other nations, and the Vatican all taking part.
Read more »
Pope tells transgender person: ‘God loves us as we are’In a recent podcast, Pope Francis responded to an audio message from a young transgender person, saying: 'God loves us as we are.'
Read more »
Pope Francis declares 'God loves us as we are' while speaking with transgender personPope Francis declared that 'God loves us as we are' while responding to a question from a transgender youth, Vatican media confirmed Tuesday.
Read more »