Portugal abuse cases mount amid questions over Nobel bishop

By BARRY HATTON
Associated Press

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Clergy sexual abuse cases are casting a pall over the Catholic Church in Portugal. They are ensnaring senior Portuguese officials even as authorities scramble to explain why shelter was given to a Nobel Peace Prize-winning bishop at the center of sexual misconduct allegations. A spotlight fell on Portuguese church authorities last week when the Holy See’s sex abuse office confirmed that it had secretly sanctioned Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo. Belo is living in an undisclosed location in Portugal. Portugal’s attorney general’s office confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that the head of the Portuguese Bishops Conference is being investigated on suspicion he covered up for abuser priests in Mozambique in a separate case.