Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Catholic Braga, Portugal · 2025

Portugal: priest convicted on 18 counts of child sexual abuse from parish activities

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

Catholic priest of the Braga diocese

Organization

Archdiocese of Braga

Spiritual nexus

The abuse arose from church-organised parish activities and from the trust the defendant built with a family through his pastoral role; that role is what created the access.

Pastoral or clerical authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2025-01-01 · conviction; subsequent canonical penalty

Portuguese criminal court, Braga. Priest Albino Fernando Tristão Meireles was convicted on 18 counts of child sexual abuse and one count of child pornography, involving three children of one family — the eldest aged ten at the time, abused during parish holiday activities — and a minor contacted online. In April 2026 the Archdiocese of Braga dismissed him from the clerical state following the criminal conviction.

Documented coercion mechanisms

access through church-organised parish holiday activities
trust built with a family through his pastoral role

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper court reporting conviction and canonical penalty 'Padre condenado por 18 crimes de abuso sexual em Braga recebeu agora a sentença da Igreja', SOL (Portugal), 26 May 2026.: Portuguese national outlet recording the 18-count criminal conviction and the subsequent dismissal from the clerical state.

Related record

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