Portugal's president feels heat from church sex abuse remark

Senior church officials had claimed that only a handful of abuse cases had occurred in Portugal. [iStockphoto]

Portugal's president is scrambling to quell an outcry over his comments appearing to make light of revelations that more than 400 people were victims of child sex abuse by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church.

A lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the church said Tuesday it has so far compiled a list of 424 alleged victims dating back to 1950. Hundreds of priests, some deceased, are under suspicion.