Bishop of Leiria-Fátima considers that “the country would gain a lot from having a budget” and criticizes “fake news” in politics
The president of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), José Ornelas, considered today that having different positions on the State Budget “is part of the political game”, but criticized manipulations and “fake news”.
Speaking to journalists, during the press conference held a few hours before the start of the anniversary pilgrimage ceremonies to the Sanctuary of Fátima, José Ornelas said that “the country would gain a lot from having a budget” and that he believes that “some steps have been taken ” to make this happen.
“Even in a small country like we are, there is room for different ideas. What I have difficulty accepting is when things are manipulated, when false news is given to get to…”, stressed the bishop of Leiria-Fátima.
In his opinion, “everything cannot go in politics” and lies make him “lose credibility” both in politics and in the Church.
José Ornelas defended that it is necessary to have “fidelity and honesty in the face of things to say: ‘I can make mistakes, I can make mistakes, but I have to always be open to critically accepting all of this and also accepting that others may have points of view. different from mine'”.
“Let the families and each one of us say so if the budget does not need to be the subject of a compromise, of projects that need to be resized because of the reality we have and the resources we have at our disposal. And above all, what are the values and the priorities we give to all of this”, he stressed.
In this context, he mentioned that it is normal for there to be “a political game”, in which there is “the ability to discuss and differ”.
“Now, we then have to reach a compromise to say that, if everything cannot be done this year, next year we will find more. I do not consider this country to be postponed, some steps have been taken”, as happened in the past, defended.
Asked about financial compensation for victims of sexual abuse from the Church, José Ornelas assured that “everything is being done to avoid revictimization.”
According to the bishop of Leiria-Fátima, “the majority of these people who already have their story told will not tell it again.”
“We all know that [a revitimização] It’s painful and we don’t want it. We want this to be a moment to recognize the harm that was done to these people, to feel that after all they were victims and are not anyone’s enemy”, he stressed.
In his opinion, this should be “a moment of pacification and contribution to overcoming difficulties, as is already happening, with the facilitation of psychological, psychiatric help, etc”.
In April, the CEP approved the creation of a fund, “with a solidarity contribution from all dioceses”, to financially compensate victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Portugal.
“To continue this process, the Assembly defined that requests for financial compensation must be presented to the VITA Group or to the Diocesan Commissions for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults between June and December 2024”, announced the CEP at the end of its Plenary Assembly held in Fátima between April 8th and 11th.
According to the episcopate, “later, an evaluation committee will determine the amounts of compensation to be awarded”.
The VITA Group was created by CEP in 2023, following the work of the Independent Commission for the Study of Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church – which over the course of almost a year validated 512 testimonies of cases that occurred between 1950 and 2022, pointing out, for extrapolation, to a minimum number of 4,815 victims.
