Meeting takes place after the celebration of WYD 2023 and the publication of reports on cases of sexual abuse
Lisbon, May 9, 2024 (Ecclesia) – The Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP) today presented the program for the ‘Ad Limina’ visit of Catholic bishops to the Vatican, which will take place between the 20th and 24th of May.
The initiative takes place for the first time since September 2015 and includes working meetings with those responsible for the central governing bodies of the Catholic Church, the Dicasteries of the Holy See, and a conclusive audience with Pope Francis.
“We asked that it not be before WYD in Lisbon 2023”, Father Manuel Barbosa, secretary of the CEP, told journalists when presenting the program.
In a meeting that took place this afternoon, at the headquarters of the Episcopal Conference, in Lisbon, the episcopate’s spokesperson pointed out that the issue of sexual abuse will be “naturally” present in meetings, in particular with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery of the Bishops.
“It is an unavoidable topic, and it could not be otherwise”, said Father Manuel Barbosa.
In February 2023, CEP received a report from the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church in Portugal, which validated 512 testimonies, out of a total of 564 received, relating to cases that occurred between 1950 and 2022.
After the end of the work of this commission, the episcopate created the Vita Group, to monitor situations of sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults.
“This is a remarkable event, unfortunately, but we have to try to face it and overcome it”, said the CEP secretary, at a press conference.
The ‘Ad Limina’ program, available online, foresees four moments of celebration, in the papal basilicas, and a Mass in the church of Santo António dos Portugueses, in Rome, in addition to several meetings with the media, to report on the progress of the works.
Father Manuel Barbosa stressed that this visit is “always a time for listening and dialogue”, for the bishops, dioceses, the Episcopal Conference and the various bodies of the Catholic Church in Portugal.
The visit “Ad Limina apostolorum” (to the tombs of the apostles) to the Pope and the Holy See is an obligation of bishops around the world, determined by Canon Law, to present reports on the Catholic communities in each diocese.
The CEP also released the program for the meeting of press officers and spokespeople for the Episcopal Conferences of Europe, which will take place in Alfragide, between the 14th and 16th of May.
The initiative, which brings together 21 participants, has the theme ‘Humanity and artificial intelligence, a look at the future. The Church’s commitment’.
O.C.
| This afternoon’s meeting took place in the context of the 58th World Social Communications Day, which takes place next Sunday. Isabel Figueiredo, director of the National Secretariat for Social Communications (SNCS), addressed the Pope’s message, dedicated to the theme ‘Artificial intelligence and wisdom of the heart: towards fully human communication’. The person responsible warned about the emptying of newsrooms, with the passing of responsibilities to younger people without transmitting knowledge and skills. “We have never been so shaken on the issue of the dignity of those who work in communications”, he said. The director of the SNCS recalled that the celebration was established by the Second Vatican Council, in the ‘Inter Mirifica’ decree, in 1963. During this meeting, the celebration of the Jubilee of the World of Communications was also announced, which will take place in Rome, from 24 to 26 January 2025. The SNCS is organizing a trip to Rome, open to journalists, to participate in the official Jubilee program, with “times exclusively for the Portuguese group”. |
Tags: ChurchPortugal Bishops visit Pope bodies Holy #20th #24th
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