Pope Francis has blasted Portugal’s Catholic Church leaders for the “scandal” of clergy sex abuse.

The pope’s criticism came as he kicked off a trip to the European country, saying their actions had helped drive the faithful away and ordering members of the Catholic hierarchy to change their ways and treat victims better.

Francis waded head-on into the scandal that has rocked the Portuguese church upon his arrival in Lisbon, where he is spending five days for the first World Youth Day Catholic festival since the Covid-19 pandemic.

A panel of experts hired by the Portuguese church reported in February that priests and other church personnel may have abused at least 4,815 boys and girls since 1950. The report represented the latest reckoning by a European church with its legacy of abuse and cover-up.

Prior to the report, Portuguese church officials had insisted there had only been a handful of cases. After its release, they initially refused to remove named abusers from ministry or to compensate victims.

Francis raised the issue during a vigil service for Portuguese clergy and nuns at the capital’s Jeronimos Monastery, where hundreds of people gathered in February to pray for abuse victims after the experts’ report was released.

The pope demanded that bishops better respond to abuse victims by accepting them and listening to them.

Speaking in his native Spanish, Francis acknowledged that many clergy and nuns in countries with once-thriving parishes feel weary about their vocations because the Catholic faithful are increasingly detached from their faith.

“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.

Francis is widely expected to meet in private with abuse survivors this week, as he has done during past foreign trips.

Bishop Jose Ornelas, head of the Portuguese bishops’ conference, promised in a speech earlier on Wednesday to devote “our special attention to the protection of the welfare of children and the undertaking to protect them from all kinds of abuse”.

The Portuguese Catholic Church also promised in March to build a memorial to victims that would be unveiled during World Youth Day, but organisers scrapped the plan a few weeks ago.

In its place, victims’ advocates launched a campaign called “This is our memorial”. Hours before the pope arrived, they put up a billboard in central Lisbon reading “4,800+ Children Abused by the Catholic Church in Portugal”.

They said it was paid for through a crowdfunding campaign that was so successful the organisers can put up more billboards around the city, though it was not clear if Francis would see any during his visit.