Independent report on clerical abuse leads to 4 new convictions in Portugal
A total of 114 alleged abusers were named by the Independent Commission’s report.
The Archdiocese of Braga announced last week that a canonical process involving Father Albino Meireles, accused of child abuse, had concluded with his dismissal from the clerical state.
The announcement is the latest development in a process that has divided observers over whether the Church has done enough to respond to abuse allegations in the country.
The announcement came three years after members of the Independent Commission created to study sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Portugal met with diocesan bishops and superiors of religious orders, handing them lists with the names of 114 alleged abusers identified during the period in which they wrote their report.
The outcome was expected, given that Meireles had already been convicted in a civil court for the same crimes. As is standard in such cases, the canonical tribunal awaited the civil ruling before concluding its own proceedings.
Meireles’ case was the last pending canonical case resulting from the lists drawn up by the Independent Commission, thereby closing a cycle.
However, while the Independent Commission presented Church authorities with a total of 114 names, only 10 people were subsequently sentenced to some form of punishment by the dioceses, and the commission’s work was considered decisive in only four of those cases.
The low number of convictions, particularly when compared to the high number of cases that were dismissed, can be attributed to a series of “significant legal hurdles,” says Carla Rodrigues, a lawyer who chairs the National Coordination Team for the Diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults.
Among these hurdles she lists the statute of limitations under civil law, lack of documentary evidence, the death of alleged abusers and the difficulty victims face in reliving these situations within a judicial setting.
“This does not mean the testimonies are not credible,” Rodrigues told The Pillar. “It means that judicial truth and historical, human, or moral truth do not always coincide.”
However, António Grosso, the public face of Portugal’s only association for survivors of clerical sexual abuse, had a different reading of the situation.
“I am not surprised,” he told The Pillar. “The silence, the cover-ups, the formalism and the bureaucracy among the hierarchy of the Church is what leads to this statistic of four in 114. It’s about wanting as little scandal as possible, always putting the victims in second place by disregarding their rights and questioning their testimony. If it hadn’t been for these attitudes, perhaps the almost 50% who have died might have been investigated in time, for example.”
Of the original 114 alleged abusers, only a minority could have faced conviction at all, given that 45 had already died and eight were never identified. Among those still living, four were laypeople, and therefore outside the scope of canon law. That means that only 57, exactly half, could have been tried by diocesan tribunals.
Furthermore, at least five of the men on the lists had already been tried and convicted by the time the Independent Commission sent their names to the dioceses.
In all, 43 cases were subjected to some form of canonical proceedings. At least 29 people were acquitted or had their cases dismissed.
At the time that the lists were presented to the dioceses, the focus was on 15 clerics – 14 diocesan priests and one member of a religious order – who were removed from active ministry while their proceedings were underway. In some instances, civil proceedings also took place, but in the majority of cases, the statute of limitations on the alleged events had already expired.
Only two of the 15 ended up facing any form of canonical sanction: Father Luís Miguel da Costa from the Diocese of Viseu, and Meireles from Braga.
The case of Miguel da Costa was already public when the lists were delivered to the dioceses. A civil court gave him a 23-month suspended sentence and ordered him to pay 10,000 euros to a teenager to whom he had sent explicit messages. The court also ordered him to attend a rehabilitation program for sex offenders and undergo psychological and psychiatric evaluations.
The canonical tribunal suspended the priest from ministry for a period of three years and mandated treatment for alcohol dependency, a one-month spiritual retreat during each year of his suspension, and psychological counseling, but refrained from dismissing him from the clerical state, as had happened to Meireles.
The lists presented to the dioceses also included names of priests and religious who were no longer active, due to retirement or illness. Three of these individuals ultimately faced canonical sanctions, bringing to five the total number of listed priests convicted.
When the Patriarchate of Lisbon received its list of accused individuals, it categorized Father José Cruz – who was gravely ill – among those no longer active. However, the priest eventually recovered enough to return to ministry. When Portuguese public broadcaster RTP questioned the patriarchate about his case in 2025, the response was that officials had only just realized an investigation into the alleged abuser had never been opened. An inquiry was initiated, which resulted in a ban on public ministry.
Then there is the case of the notorious Father Frederico Marcos da Cunha. Convicted of murder in 1993, he subsequently fled to Brazil, where he still resides, but without undergoing a canonical trial. The current Bishop of Funchal petitioned Rome about his case, and Marcos da Cunha was formally dismissed from the clerical state in 2024.
There are at least four cases that had already been adjudicated before the lists were made public, but whose outcomes were not publicly disclosed. Consequently, both the number of convictions and acquittals could be slightly higher.
All things considered, there is a minimum of 10 canonical convictions among the 114 names on the Independent Commission’s lists, but only four can be directly credited to the commission’s work. Five individuals had already been tried previously, and another – Father Luís Miguel da Costa – was already facing civil proceedings while the report was being compiled.
Rodrigues maintains that the low conviction rate is no reason to doubt the sincerity of the diocesan processes and commissions.
She said that while the history of these cases may lead to a distrust of the Church by some people, there has been “a significant shift” in how the Church in Portugal responds to abuse allegations today – in no small part due to the work of the Independent Commission.
“The Commission allowed us to gain a deeper, more systematic understanding of this reality. This had a very powerful impact on the Church in Portugal. Previously, a defensive culture of silence often prevailed, excessively focused on protecting the institution. After the Independent Commission, it became impossible to ignore the scale of the problem and the need for a structural response,” she said.
Among the changes that have come about from the commission, Rodrigues said, are a “greater focus on welcoming and supporting victims” and the “establishment of clearer procedures and protocols for receiving and forwarding complaints,” as well as “increased collaboration with civil authorities, more investment in training and prevention, and the fostering of a culture of protection and accountability.”
There is also a much clearer awareness in the Church of the need to listen to victims and to offer transparency in dealing with allegations, she continued.
“Today, cases are handled with greater professionalism, with increased reliance on specialized lawyers and canonists, closer coordination with civil authorities, and a heightened awareness of the need for thorough procedures,” she said.
“This doesn’t mean the system is perfect or that there is no room for criticism and improvement, but it is inaccurate to say that these cases are treated lightly or in a merely symbolic way,” she added. “Trust is not rebuilt by decree. It is rebuilt over time, with consistency and concrete actions. And we are moving forward on that path.”
Grosso, however, told The Pillar that while there may be more awareness of abuse today, Church authorities have a long way to go in their handling of abuse allegations.
“Before, the Church lived in darkness and cover-up, and few knew what went on inside it in terms of sexual abuse,” he said. “Then the Independent Commission embarrassed the bishops by publishing a 500-page report, with 512 validated testimonies, leaving thousands of faithful in shock.”
“The story of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is no longer the taboo it once was, now it is common knowledge,” he continued. “Meanwhile the president of the Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Virgílio Antunes, says that the way the Church has handled the situation can be an example for society. We certainly hope not!”