Cases of clergy sexual abuse cast a veil over the Catholic Church in Portugal, trapping senior officials even as the government struggles to figure out why a Nobel Peace Prize-winning bishop was given refuge amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Top Catholic leaders apologized over the weekend for injuries caused over decades of alleged abuse and cover-ups (existing estimates put it at around 400 cases) and the archbishop of Lisbon pleaded with worshippers to stop practicing religion in the church.
“Be on our part, we will do the best we can, respecting the law and the Gospel,” Archbishop Manuel Clemente said after Sunday Mass.
Portuguese church authorities, as well as the Vatican, stood out last week when the Holy See’s sexual abuse showed a Dutch media report that in 2020 it had secretly sanctioned Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, the respected hero of East Timor’s independence. a small former Portuguese colony in East Asia. Belo, who lives in Portugal, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
Other unwanted revelations for the Portuguese church have piled up in recent days, as Portugal looks to gain momentum to host World Youth Day next year in Lisbon. Pope Francis is scheduled to attend the occasion, which is a major occasion in the Catholic calendar.
Portugal’s attorney general told The Associated Press on Monday that the head of the Portuguese bishops’ conference, Archbishop Jose Ornelas, is under investigation on suspicion of covering up abusive priests in Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony.
Ornelas, who presides over Portugal’s prominent shrine of Fatima, has denied wrongdoing or wrongdoing and vowed to cooperate with any investigation, the investigation has increased pressure on Portuguese church authorities.
Ornelas flew to Italy this weekend for a personal assembly at the Vatican with Francis, who also won his ambassador to Portugal. The Vatican provided the main points about the assemblies.
Ornelas’ message to the pope came two months after Lisbon Archbishop Clemente was due to meet with the pontiff amid a spate of allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests and alleged cover-ups by senior members of the Portuguese church.
The scandals emerged amid revelations published by a committee of lay people investigating historical cases of church sex abuse in Portugal. Since January, it has discovered about 400 suspected cases. Previously, church officials said they knew of only a few cases. .
On Saturday, the diocese of Braga in northern Portugal apologized for the “pain and suffering” caused by allegations of sexual abuse of a local priest by local men and women. The abuses allegedly occurred in the 1990s and victims complain that nothing happened. after sounding the alarm at the turn of the century.
Many questions remain unanswered about Belo in Portugal. La Salesian missionary order to which he belongs declared that he had welcomed him at the request of his superiors. Its current location is unclear.
The Vatican has banned Belo from having contact with minors or East Timor, over allegations of misconduct that reached Rome in 2019.
Timor-Leste’s embassy in Lisbon did not respond Monday to a request for comment on a Portuguese media report that, following last week’s revelations, it picked him up from a Salesian asset in Lisbon and took him to an undisclosed location.
Belo said he retired in 2002 for health reasons and to give newly independent East Timor another leadership in the church. But less than a year after his retirement, Belo sent the Vatican and the Salesians to Mozambique to work as a missionary priest. Ties with the African country.
There, Belo says, he spent his time “catechizing children, giving retreats to people. “
The United Nations and victims’ advocates have called on Francis to allow an investigation into cases involving Belo’s retirement in 2002, when he was 20 years ahead of the general retirement age, and why he sent him to Mozambique.
Top headlines via email, mornings of the week
Get the top Union-Tribune headlines in your inbox Monday through Friday mornings, adding the most sensitive news, local, sports, commercial, entertainment and opinion.
You may get promotional content from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Privacy PolicyTerms of UseSubscribe to our newsletters
Follow