Latest news and stories about abuse scandal in Portugal for expats and residents.
The Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) has concluded the process of awarding compensation to victims of abuse, and the act is not exactly a sign of an internalisation of responsibility or an understanding of the scale of the scourge. Opinion piece by Pedro Norton.
The case only became known after a report to the independent commission. However, the Vatican had known since the 1970s. Joseph Ratzinger pardoned the man.
A Portuguese friar was given a symbolic penalty for abusing a girl: he was forbidden from hearing confessions. In 1991, the future Pope Benedict XVI reversed the punishment. He was never prevented from having contact with children.
