THE Catholic Church of Portugal will compensate victims of child sexual abuse by its members and decide on the amounts to be paid on a case-by-case basis, it was announced today.

The members of the Synod of Bishops (CEP) met from Monday at Sanctuary of Fatimain central Portugal, to discuss, among other things, the compensation of the victims.

Applications should be submitted between June and December this year, the release said. The compensations will be paid from a CEP fund created for this purpose and financed by all the dioceses of the country.

In February 2023, a shock report was released, with the conclusions of an investigation that had been requested by the Church but carried out by a commission of independent experts. According to this report, at least 4,815 minors have been sexually abused by members of the Church since the 1950s. The hierarchy of the Church “systematically” concealed this abuse, concluded the commission, which collected more than 500 testimonies within a year.

The Catholic Church apologized to the victims and acknowledged that it will have to “change the culture within itself.”

On the occasion of his visit to Lisbon last August, Pope Francis met with 13 of the victims.