Rome, 3 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Pope Francis met privately with 13 victims of clerical sexual abuse in Portugal on Wednesday, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

The meeting took place "in an atmosphere of intense listening and lasted over an hour," Bruni said.

The victims were accompanied by representatives of the Portuguese Church institutions in charge of child protection programs.

In February, an independent report found that at least 4,800 minors were abused by members of the church in Portugal between 1960 and 2022.

The meeting followed Vespers in Lisbon's Jeronimos Monastery during which the pontiff called on clergy and the religious community to combat clerical sexual abuse and listen to victims.

During evening prayers, Francis lamented the damage multiple abuses by clergy have done to the reputation of the church, which had contributed to driving the faithful away.

"It is often accentuated by the disappointment and anger with which some people view the church, at times due to our poor witness and the scandals that have marred her face and call us to a humble and ongoing purification, starting with the anguished cry of the victims, who must always be accepted and listened to," he said.

Earlier, Francis criticized Europe for its inadequate efforts to solve the world's problems.

"Where are you heading if you don't propose to the world a course of peace, creative ways to stop the war in Ukraine and the many conflicts that stain the world with blood?" the pontiff said in a lunchtime speech to representatives of the Portuguese government and civil society at the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon.

The 86-year-old denounced the absence of a bold peace plan and said more money was being invested in weapons than in the future of children.

Europe also had to face up to its problems, the pontiff warned. He criticized the handling of migrants at the continent's external borders and in the Mediterranean, the decline in birth rates as well as discussions on euthanasia.

"Global injustices, wars, climate and migration crises are advancing faster than the ability and often the will to face these challenges together", Francis said.

Instead, the pope dreams of a "Europe at the heart of the West" that uses its ingenuity to extinguish hotbeds of war and ignite lights of hope. The continent could be a driver for the "global opening" needed in the world. The world needs Europe - "the real Europe" - as a bridge builder and peacemaker.

The head of the Catholic Church is in Portugal for five days during the Catholic Church's World Youth Day (WYD) 2023.

After his arrival in Lisbon, Francis was welcomed by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at his residence, Belém Palace, for an official welcoming ceremony.

In his entry in the Portuguese Book of Honour, Francis said: "As a pilgrim of hope in Portugal, I pray and hope that this country with its young heart will continue to reach out to the horizons of fraternity."

He said he hoped Lisbon would show ways of working together to face "the great questions and problems of Europe and the world."

At the Vatican's embassy in Lisbon, officially the apostolic nunciature, the pontiff is due to meet Prime Minister António Costa.

Highlights of his trip include meetings with young sick people at the shrine of Fátima, where he is also expected to pray for peace, as well as the evening prayer on Saturday and Mass on Sunday.

Photo: EPA