Portugal urges victims of clergy sexual abuse to break the silence

3/12/2021 6:18

        A commission investigating allegations of historical child sexual abuse by members of the Portuguese Catholic church urged victims on Thursday to speak up
        and help them lift a veil of silence around the issue.
        
        "We want (victims) to report, finally and without fear, what happened to them," the head of the newly-created commission, psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, told a news conference during which he announced the team conducting the investigation.
        
        Portugal's Bishops Conference announced the creation of the body last month after a major investigation in France revealed that around 3,000 priests and religious officials sexually abused 200,000 children over the past 70 years.
        
        The Roman Catholic Church has been rocked by sexual abuse scandals around the world, often involving children, over the past 20 years.