The authorities and senior officials are scrambling in order to answer why a bishop was given shelter with a Nobel peace prize at the center of sexual misconduct allegations. The estimate of allegations is around 400 and the senior catholic leaders are apologizing for the hurt their institution has caused in the ongoing abuse that has lasted for decades. The archbishop of Lisbon is begging the faithful to not lose their faith in their church. He has requested to trust their processes with the law and have confidence in them.
Carlos Ximenes Belo won the prize in 1996 and he has been living in Portugal. Pope Francis is due to attend the World Youth Day which is set for next year and these unwelcoming revelations have piled up against the momentum. Bishop Jose Ornelas, head of the Portuguese Bishops Conference is getting investigated on suspicion that he covered up for abuser priests. The bishop has, however, denied any such allegations.
These allegations were revealed by a lay committee who was reportedly looking into the history of the church and its relationship with sexual abuse cases. Previously, the church stated that they only knew a handful of such cases but the revelations have ripped out more than 400 ones.
Belo retired in 2002 for health reasons but within a year he was sent to work as a missionary priest by the Vatican. As per Belo, he spent his time there “teaching catechism to children, giving retreats to young people.”
The United Nations is involved and has called Francis to authorize an investigation surrounding Bello’s retirement when he was 20 years shy of the normal age from doing so and why he was sent to Mozambique.
