Portuguese Church struggles to adopt concrete measures to tackle child sexual abuse

FILE PHOTO: People walk by a church on the day Portugal's commission investigating allegations of historical child sexual abuse by members of the Portuguese Catholic church will unveil its report, in Lisbon, Portugal, February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo

FATIMA, Portugal (Reuters) - Portugal's Catholic Church announced a handful of steps on Friday to tackle child sexual abuse within the Church - but it said suspected priests still in active roles would not be suspended unless the facts against them were clearly established.

The head of Portugal's Bishops' Conference (CEP), Jose Ornelas, also said that the Church would not pay reparations to victims.