The President of the Republic has agreed to use his influence to explore an external audit of the Catholic Church's compensation process for sexual abuse victims, following a meeting with the association Coração Silenciado. António José Seguro also acknowledged the group's demand to eliminate statutory time limits for crimes of sexual abuse against minors.
Spokesperson António Grosso confirmed after the meeting that a direct communication channel will be established with the President's civil household to monitor progress. The association, which represents survivors, had requested state intervention, citing a lack of transparency in the internal process managed by the Church — including instances where victims cannot access reports about their own cases.
External Audit and End to Statutory Limits
The President accepted a proposal to explore applying "a revision and an audit to the whole process in the Catholic Church," according to the association. Coração Silenciado has long argued that the current compensation system lacks independence and visibility.
On the issue of criminal statute of limitations, the association delivered a document stating that "trauma and suffering do not prescribe." Current Portuguese law sets time limits that can expire before victims are ready to speak out — often decades later.
"When victims finally speak about it, the crime has already prescribed," Grosso said.
The group noted that several countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada, have no time limits for prosecuting sexual crimes against minors. They will now seek meetings with parliamentary groups to push for legislative changes.
Legislative Context in Portugal
Parliament is already discussing proposals to extend statutory deadlines. One bill proposes raising the age threshold to 30 years old — up from 23 — before criminal proceedings can expire.
A separate bill from the CDS-PP, approved unanimously in committee in May 2026, tightens penalties for sexual crimes against minors, including in digital contexts. At the European level, an agreement reached in June 2026 between the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament will require member states to extend prescription periods and increase sanctions, with a deadline of three years for national implementation.
Compensations: What the Numbers Show
By March 2026, the Portuguese Bishops' Conference (CEP) confirmed that 57 individuals had received approved compensation payments, ranging from €9,000 to €45,000 — roughly between three and fifteen times the monthly minimum wage. The total disbursed exceeded €1.5 million.
The compensation process followed initial validation of 512 testimonies by an Independent Commission, later replaced by the VITA Group. Historically, the Church estimates total spending on investigations, victim support and compensation reached around €3 million.
What Changes for Victims
The agreed audit, if it proceeds, would give survivors visibility into how their cases were handled — something currently unavailable under the Church's internal process. Removing time limits for criminal complaints would allow victims to seek justice at any point in their adult lives, eliminating the legal barrier that now protects abusers once decades have passed.
The association's document criticized "the omission of state bodies throughout this process," arguing that crimes were "systematically covered up by the institution" and that victims are "children that, somewhere in time, the State did not protect."
