Posts Tagged Chile
The removals come ahead of a pastoral visit by two papal investigators to Osorno to “advance the process of reparation and healing.” (Cruxnow.com)
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a controversial Chilean bishop accused of covering up clerical sexual abuse, making it the first such accepted resignation since all the country’s bishops offered to step down in May.
“The pontiff had appointed Bishop Juan Barros to the southern diocese of Osorno in 2015, causing uproar both among the locals and the victims of the country’s most infamous pedophile priest.
“The Vatican announced Francis’s decision on Monday, and said Bishop Jorge Enrique Concha Cayuqueo, an auxiliary bishop from the capital Santiago, would serve as apostolic administrator of the diocese.
“Two other bishops also had their resignations accepted: Archbishop Cristián Caro Cordero of Puerto Montt and Bishop Gonzalo Duarte García de Cortázar of Valparaíso.
“Barros was only 61; the other two bishops were 75, the mandatory retirement age for bishops in the Church.
“The removals come ahead of a pastoral visit by two papal investigators to Osorno to ‘advance the process of reparation and healing.'”
By Inés San Martin, Cruxnow.com — Read more …
accountability, Barros, bishops, catholic bishop accountability, catholic bishops, catholic church, Chile, Chilean bishop, clergy sexual abuse scandal, clerical sexual abuse, coverup, Cruxnow.com, Ines San Martin, Osorno, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, vatican, voice of the faithful
The shock of these mass resignations creates an opportunity and momentum that Francis should seize upon to implement the tribunal he proposed three years ago. No more delays. He should act now. (National Catholic Reporter)
Recent weeks have seen several milestone events in the Catholic Church’s decades-long struggle to come to terms with the scandal of clergy sexual abuse and its cover-up by the hierarchy. The headline event was the mass resignation of the Chilean episcopate May 18. While at press time Pope Francis had not yet formally accepted any of the resignations and the full implications of the resignations are still being sorted out, the significance of the event cannot be in doubt.
The contrast between the meeting of Chile’s bishops and Francis in mid-May and Francis’ encounter with journalists in late January could not be starker. In January, Francis twice, very publicly, dismissed the testimony of abuse survivors. He accused them of ‘calumny’ against bishops they accused of ignoring reports of abuse and covering up for abusing clergy.
Within days of making those statements, however, Francis had appointed Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to investigate the situation in Chile. By April, Francis had received a 2,300-page report, and in an extraordinary public letter, the pope admitted — confessed may be a more appropriate word — making “grave errors” in judgment about Chile’s sex abuse scandal. He invited the survivors he had disparaged to Rome to beg their forgiveness and he summoned the bishops to discuss repairing the damage from the scandal.
By National Catholic Reporter Editorial Staff — Read more …
accountability, bishop resignations, catholic bishop accountability, catholic church, Chile, clergy sexual abuse scandal, national catholic reporter, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, vatican, voice of the faithful
“I have made serious mistakes in the assessment and my perception of the situation, especially due to a lack of truthful and balanced information,” Francis says in the letter. (National Catholic Reporter)
Pope Francis has admitted making ‘serious mistakes’ in his handling of clergy sexual abuse cases in Chile, telling the country’s bishops in a lengthy letter that he feels ‘pain and shame’ for the ‘crucified lives’ of those who suffered abuse.
“But Francis has not revealed whether he will sack a Chilean prelate accused of covering up abuse, whom he has previously defended to the outrage of abuse survivors. Instead, Francis has asked the country’s bishops to come to Rome en masse for a meeting at some point soon.
“In a letter released late April 11, Francis is reporting to the bishops about the mission of Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna, whom the pope sent to Chile in February to interview abuse victims and look into the case of Bishop Juan Barros Madrid.
“‘I have made serious mistakes in the assessment and my perception of the situation, especially due to a lack of truthful and balanced information,’ Francis says in the letter.
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
abuse survivors, accountability, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, bishop accountability, Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, catholic bishop accountability, catholic church, child sexual abuse, Chile, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Joshua J. McElwee, national catholic reporter, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, vatican, voice of the faithful
“The fundamental problem is that the church has no process for judging bishops that is transparent and has legitimacy with the public. The bishop may or may not be innocent, but no one will trust a secret process that involves clerics investigating clerics, clerics judging clerics.” (National Catholic Reporter)
The overwhelming consensus in the media is that Pope Francis has a blind spot when it comes to sexual abuse.
“He may be on the side of refugees, migrants, the sick, the poor, the indigenous and other marginalized peoples, but he just doesn’t get it when it comes to victims of abuse.
“The evidence for this assertion is the pope’s unwavering support for Juan Barros, whom he appointed bishop of Osorno, Chile, despite accusations from victims that he witnessed and covered up abuse by the Fr. Fernando Karadima, the charismatic priest who in 2011 was found guilty by the Vatican of abusing minors in his upscale Santiago parish.
“In a leaked letter to the Chilean bishops, Francis defended his January 2015 appointment of Barros to Osorno. Francis acknowledged that the Vatican was so concerned about the crisis in Chile that it planned to ask Barros, who was the bishop for the military, and two other bishops to resign and take a sabbatical. Despite these concerns, Francis appointed Barros anyway.”
By Thomas Reese, Religion News Service, in National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
accountability, Bishop Juan Borros, catholic bishop accountability, catholic church, Chile, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, coverup, Fr. Fernando Karadima, national catholic reporter, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, Thomas Reese, vatican, voice of the faithful
“But there is not one single piece of evidence. It is all slander. Is that clear?” (Pope Francis in The New York Times)
Pope Francis has accused abuse victims in Chile of slandering a bishop who they say protected a pedophile priest, upending his efforts to rehabilitate the Catholic Church’s reputation while visiting South America.
“Francis told reporters Thursday there was not a shred of evidence against Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, who victims of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, Chile’s most notorious priest, have accused of being complicit in his crimes.
“‘The day someone brings me proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk,’ Francis said before celebrating Mass outside the northern Chilean city of Iquique. ‘But there is not one single piece of evidence. It is all slander. Is that clear?'”
By Pascale Bonnefoy and Austin Ramzy, The New York Times — Read more …
accountability, Austin Ramzy, Bishop Juan Barros, catholic church, Chile, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Pascale Bonnefoy, Rev. Fernando Karadima, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, South America, The New York Times, vatican, voice of the faithful
“But his meeting with abuse survivors and comments in his first speech of the day were what many Chileans, incensed by years of abuse scandal and cover-up, were waiting for.” (Associated Press)
“Pope Francis met on Tuesday (Jan. 16) with survivors of priests who sexually abused them, wept with them and apologized for the ‘irreparable damage’ they suffered, his spokesman said.
“The pontiff also acknowledged the ‘pain’ of priests who have been held collectively responsible for the crimes of a few, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told reporters at the end of the day.
“Francis dove head-first into Chile’s sex abuse scandal on his first full day in Santiago that came amid unprecedented opposition to his visit …
But his meeting with abuse survivors and comments in his first speech of the day were what many Chileans, incensed by years of abuse scandal and cover-up, were waiting for.”
By Peter Prengaman and Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Read more …
abuse survivors, abuse victims, accountability, Associated Press, catholic church, child sexual abuse, Chile, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, coverup, Nicole Winfield, Peter Prengaman, Pope Francis, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, vatican, voice of the faithful
“In his Jan. 31, 2015, letter, written in response to Chilean church leaders’ complaints about the Barros appointment, Francis revealed for the first time that he knew that the issue was controversial and that his ambassador in Chile had tried to find a way to contain the damage well before the case made headlines.” (Associated Press)
The Vatican was so concerned about the fallout from Chile’s most notorious pedophile priest that it planned to ask three Chilean bishops accused of knowing about his decades-long crimes to resign and take a year’s sabbatical — a revelation that comes just days before Pope Francis makes his first visit to Chile as pope.
“A confidential 2015 letter from Francis, obtained by The Associated Press, details the behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the Vatican and Chile’s bishops to deal with the prelates connected to the disgraced Rev. Fernando Karadima. And it reveals the bishops’ concern about Francis naming a Karadima protege, Bishop Juan Barros, to the helm of the diocese of Osorno — an appointment that roiled the diocese, with hundreds of priests and lay Catholics staging protests against him.
“Those protests are expected to greet Francis during his visit to Chile, which begins Monday (Jan. 15).
“Chile’s Catholic Church was thrown into crisis in 2010 when former parishioners publicly accused Karadima of sexually abusing them when they were minors, starting in the 1980s — accusations they had made years earlier to Chilean church leaders but that were ignored. The scandal grew as Chilean prosecutors and Vatican investigators took testimony from the victims, who accused Barros and other Karadima proteges of having witnessed the abuse and doing nothing about it.”
By Eva Vergara and Nicole Winfield, Associated Press — Read more …
accountability, Associated Press, Bishop Juan Barros, catholic bishop accountability, catholic bishops, catholic church, child sexual abuse, Chile, Chilean bishops, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, coverup, Diocese of Osorno, Eva Vergara, Nicole Winfield, Pope Francis, Rev. Fernanco Karadima, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, transparency, vatican, voice of the faithful
“This list — is a fraction of the total number of accused clerics who would be known if Chile’s church leaders were required to report to law enforcement …” (National Catholic Reporter)
The leading Catholic clergy sexual abuse tracking website has identified nearly 80 priests in Chile that have been publicly accused of sexually abusing minors, releasing their names online just days before Pope Francis is to visit the country.
“BishopAccountability.org calls the list only a sampling of the number of Chilean priests who have likely committed abuse, saying that unlike in the U.S., the church in Chile has yet to face substantial outside investigation into its handling of sexual misconduct.
“‘This list — is a fraction of the total number of accused clerics who would be known if Chile’s church leaders were required to report to law enforcement, if its legal system allowed victims more time to bring criminal and civil charges, or if dioceses and religious orders were investigated by prosecutors or state commissions,’ the group notes in a statement accompanying the database.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Read more …
accountability, Bishop Accountability.org, catholic church, child sexual abuse, Chile, clergy sexual abuse, clergy sexual abuse scandal, Joshua J. McElwee, national catholic reporter, roman catholic church, sexual abuse scandal, voice of the faithful
With Bishop Robert Finn’s resignation, which the Vatican announced today, Voice of the Faithful is more hopeful that bishops, at long last, might be held accountable for failing to report priests to criminal authorities when they are suspected of child abuse.
Although the Vatican used its usual “accept the resignation” in making this announcement about the Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo., bishop, the lack of praise for past service and failure to designate any new posting is what passes for a forced resignation in the Vatican, especially given Finn’s age. Most bishops with documented records of shielding abusers have been allowed to fill out their terms and retire at 75.
Former Bishop Finn, as have others, chose to ignore the mandated reporting required by the 2002 U.S. bishops’ charter for the protection of young people and local civil law, as well as moral obligations not only to protect children who had already fallen prey to clerics, but also to prevent potential exposure of other children to clergy abuse.
“Voice of the Faithful has long called for such bishops to be held accountable for covering up and enabling abuse and activities that endanger rather than support the faithful in their parish communities,” said Mark Mullaney, VOTF president.
Of note are Finn’s activities even as his tenure at the diocese began in 2005. According to National Catholic Reporter, Finn dismissed several lay diocesan leaders, canceled the diocese’s nationally recognized lay formation programs, forced through budget cuts the closure of the diocese’s Center for Pastoral Life and Ministry and appointed someone with no formal theological training to oversee adult catechesis and lay formation.
Pope Francis, in contrast to such activities, has said frequently that he values lay input, sees no place in the priesthood for abusers and desires bishops to be held accountable.
“VOTF prays that this resignation signals a new willingness to remove those bishops who still choose to hide suspected abuse rather than address it,” Mullaney said. “We are hopeful the mistaken appointment of Bishop Barros in Chile will soon become a second marker of accountability.”
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful is a worldwide movement of faithful Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in the governance and guidance of the Church. More information is at www.votf.org.
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Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston (who leads the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors) made a pitch to Pope Francis and his team of cardinal advisers Wednesday (Apr. 15) on the need to hold bishops who fail to report sexual abuse accountable.
“O’Malley’s talk came three days after two survivors of clerical sexual abuse met with him to protest the pope’s naming of a bishop in Chile linked to a notorious abuser.
“According to a Vatican spokesman, O’Malley brought the issue to the attention of the pontiff’s ‘G9’ commission of cardinal advisers, a body whose meetings the pope attends. O’Malley is a member …
“The Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said O’Malley emphasized to his fellow cardinals the need to establish appropriate procedures and methods to evaluate and judge cases of ‘abuse of office’ by bishops or priests — especially in cases in which they mishandled abuse allegations against a cleric or other church personnel under their supervision.”
By Ines San Martin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
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A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
Voice of the Faithful
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