Lisbon, Sept. 1, 2025 (Lusa) - The Vita group, set up by the Portuguese Bishops' Conference (CEP) to monitor situations of sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, has received a total of 83 requests for financial compensation, the organisation announced on Monday.
"To date, 83 requests for financial compensation have been received and, as planned, investigative commissions have been set up which have so far assessed 68 people," the coordinator of the Vita group told Lusa.
This difference is due to cases in which people failed to respond, didn't turn up for scheduled interviews, situations in which there was no sexual violence or with suspects “outside the context of the Roman Catholic Church”, explained Rute Agulhas.
"In the context of the Church, therefore, there are only seven people who applied for this financial compensation more recently and whose interviews are now scheduled for September," said the head of the Vita group, considering that the work is practically finished.
"The Vita group effectively undertook to finalise most of the opinions by the end of August, so that it would be possible to move forward with a second working group, the so-called compensation-setting commission" on the part of the CEP.
"Now that we have a greater number of people heard, in a very global and very generalised way, they have given us positive feedback from these interviews," he stressed.
"The overwhelming majority of people told the investigating committees that they felt listened to, validated and that it was an important moment and not a moment of re-victimisation," said Rute Agulhas.
The majority wants the discussion of compensation to be evaluated "case by case" and not in a global package, and "as soon as the second working group is formed and identified, we are in a position to send these opinions that have already been made".
This working group, to be appointed by the CEP, will include two individuals from the Vita group, which is currently in office.
"I have a positive assessment, bearing in mind that, as time has gone by, more people have come to us asking for this possible financial compensation," but mainly "to be heard," he said.
"Most people, in fact, are not focused on money, as you might sometimes think," but on being "listened to by the Church".
"There are many people who say they won't keep the money if they receive it. They're going to donate it, give it to their grandchildren or give it to the fire brigade or, for example, to an organisation that supports children or young people," explained Rute Agulhas.
A "motivation that is not purely centred on money, which is a compensation that is symbolic and a sign of the Church's effort to compensate in some way for the damage suffered," she added.
Most of the victims heard "no longer have faith in the church of men and often continue to believe in God and the Catholic faith, but in a different way," emphasised Rute Agulhas, who praised the hierarchy's openness in moving forward with these interviews and providing compensation.
At the same time, "we've had many situations of people who were not only abused in the context of the Church, but also abused in the context of family, school and sport, and they have also reported these situations to the investigating committees," said the group's leader.
"Often the reflection that these people make is that they have been abused in different contexts and it is only from the Church that they are feeling some welcome here," she emphasised The CEP and the Conference of Religious Institutes of Portugal (CIRP) unanimously approved the award of financial compensation to victims of sexual violence, whether they are children or vulnerable adults, in the context of the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal, thus complementing the prevention work that the Vita group has carried out, the Diocesan Commissions and the Religious Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life.
At the same time, the Vita group said in a statement that it "continues to develop its work, strengthening partnerships and channels of communication, in a logic of networking, contributing to the construction of knowledge and also to the consolidation of good practices that promote a safer, more welcoming and humanist Church".
Within this framework, the group has already organised "training and capacity-building activities for the various structures of the Church", which have reached more than 3,800 people.
'Two programmes for the primary prevention of sexual violence are being finalised and will be presented to the public on 30 September in Lisbon: 1) the "Sunflower Programme", aimed at children aged 6 to 9, and 2) the "Lighthouse Game", a digital game for children aged 10 to 14,' the group adds.
In parallel, the Roman Catholic Church structure is organising the congress “From Reflection to Action: The Role of the Roman Catholic Church in Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence”, to be held in Fátima on November 27.
"This congress aims to reflect on the path already travelled, consolidate prevention and intervention practices, and plan future strategies in the fight against sexual crimes in the context of the Church," the organisation said.
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