Church in Portugal publishes regulations for compensation claims in abuse cases

ACI Digital, Jul 25, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

Requests for financial compensation for victims of sexual abuse committed in the Church in Portugal will be analyzed by two commissions, one to analyze the cases and the other to determine the amounts of compensation, the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference (CEP) said in regulations published Thursday.

“Financial compensation should represent a significant benefit and be proportional to the seriousness of the damage assessed, without the pretension of paying what is unpayable or annulling what, unfortunately, cannot be annulled,” the CEP regulations say.

In February 2023, the final report of the Independent Commission for the Study of the Sexual Abuse of Children in the Catholic Church in Portugal was released. According to the document, from 1950 to 2022 there were at least 4,815 victims in the country. Following this report, the VITA Group was created to monitor situations of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults in the context of the Catholic Church in Portugal.

In April of this year, the CEP approved at its 209th Plenary Assembly the awarding of financial compensation to victims of sexual abuse against children and vulnerable people in the Church in Portugal. The same decision was taken by the Conference of Religious Institutes of Portugal at its general assembly that same month.

Analysis of requests for financial compensation

According to the regulations published July 25, applications for compensation, which began to be submitted June 1, can be made until Dec. 31. They can be made “by the victims, or their legal representative, to the VITA Group, to the diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, or to the services of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life.”

“An investigation commission will be set up for each request for compensation,” the regulations say. This commission “is responsible for examining requests for financial compensation, ascertaining the facts committed, the nature and extent of the damage suffered, as well as the causal link between the fact and the damage.” After the analysis, it must draw up an opinion on the “merits or unfoundedness of the request for financial compensation.”

This commission will be made up of two people, one appointed by the VITA Group and the other by the coordinator of the respective diocesan commission or, in the case of religious institutes and societies of apostolic life, by the competent authority of the institute. It will also include “at least one professional from the field of forensic psychology and, if necessary, from the field of forensic psychiatry (with experience in medical-legal evaluations in this specific context), and if possible a jurist.”

The case then goes to the compensation committee, whose “function will no longer be to determine the facts but to determine the amount of compensation to be awarded.”

It will be made up of seven people, mostly lawyers with experience in the area. Two will be appointed by CEP, two by the national coordination team of the diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults, one by the Conference of Religious Institutes of Portugal, and two by the VITA Group.

“The opinions issued by either the instruction committee or the compensation committee must be presented, duly substantiated and under seal, to the Portuguese Episcopal Conference or to the competent major superior, who will decide on them in definitive terms, respectively,” the regulations say.

The final decision, “duly justified, will be notified to the author of the request, to the commission for the determination of compensation, and to the commission for the investigation of the case.”

The financial compensation payments will be made through a fund created by the CEP, which will count on the solidarity contribution of all Portuguese dioceses as well as religious institutes and societies of apostolic life.

The CEP regulations state that “regardless of the request for financial compensation,” “medical, psychological, and/or psychotherapeutic support for victims of sexual abuse practiced within the Church” will continue to be provided.

This story was first published by ACI Digital, CNA’s Portuguese-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.