Pope Francis challenged young people on Thursday to make the world a more just and inclusive place, as he focused the second day of his Portugal trip on inspiring students to use their privilege to combat global warming and economic inequalities.
More than 4,800 individuals may have been victims of child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church and 512 alleged victims have already come forward to speak out, an expert panel looking into historic abuse in the church said Monday.
A senior Portuguese Catholic Church official who has been named in investigations involving alleged cover-ups of sex abuse by priests said Oct. 12 his conscience is clear.
Clergy sexual abuse cases are casting a pall over the Catholic Church in Portugal, ensnaring senior officials even as authorities scramble to explain why shelter was given to a Nobel Peace Prize-winning bishop at the center of sexual misconduct allegations.
The Archbishop of Lisbon met Aug. 5 with Pope Francis in a private audience at the Vatican to discuss "events in recent weeks that have marked the life of the Church in Portugal," the Portuguese church said.
A lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said Thursday that during its first month of work it received allegations from 214 people.
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