Posts Tagged Juan Barros

Pope’s sex abuse advisors meet in Rome over Chile bishop / Associated Press

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on April 13, 2015

Four members of Pope Francis’ sex abuse advisory commission traveled to Rome on Sunday (Apr. 12) to voice their concerns in person about Francis’ appointment of a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for the country’s most notorious molester.

“The four met with Francis’ point-man on abuse, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, who agreed to relay their concerns to the pope about the appointment of Juan Barros as bishop of Osorno in southern Chile, the commission members said in a statement.”

By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press in The Island Packet — Click here to read the rest of this story.

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Vatican: No ‘objective reasons’ to preclude appointment of Chilean bishop / National Catholic Reporter

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on March 31, 2015

The Vatican has responded to public outcry against Pope Francis’ naming of a new bishop in Chile accused of covering up sexual abuse, saying the bishop’s candidature was ‘carefully examined’ prior to his appointment but no ‘objective reasons’ were found to preclude it.

“Marking a rare reaction to public criticism against a bishop’s appointment, the Vatican press office released a 19-word statement Tuesday (Mar. 31) in three languages regarding Bishop Juan Barros Madrid.

“Chilean clergy sexual abuse survivors accuse Barros, who was installed March 21 as head of the diocese of Osorno, Chile, amid protests in the cathedral, of covering up abuse by Fr. Fernando Karadima when Barros was a priest.”

By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.

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Angry protest over new bishop in Chile

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on March 23, 2015

Hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black barged into a cathedral in a city in southern Chile on Saturday and interrupted the installation ceremony for the city’s new Roman Catholic bishop, Juan Barros, whom they accuse of complicity in a notorious case of clerical sexual abuse, blocking his passage and shouting, ‘Barros, get out of the city!’

“The scene inside the Cathedral San Mateo de Osorno was chaotic, with television images showing clashes between Barros opponents, carrying black balloons, and Barros supporters, carrying white ones. Radio reports said several protesters tried to climb onto the altar where Bishop Barros was standing. After the ceremony, he left the cathedral through a side door escorted by police special forces. Outside, about 3,000 people, including local politicians and members of Congress, held signs and chanted demands that he resign.”

By Pascale Bonnefoy, The New York Times — Click here to read the rest of this story.

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Pope’s zero tolerance for bishops who covered for pedophiles faces tough test in Chile / Associated Press

Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Clergy Sexual Abuse, Pope Francis, Voice of the Faithful on March 16, 2015

Juan Carlos Cruz recalls that he and another teen boy would lie down on the priest’s bed, one resting his head at the man’s shoulder, another sitting near his feet. The priest would kiss the boys and grope them, he said, all while the Rev. Juan Barros watched.

“‘Barros was there, and he saw it all,’ Cruz, now a 51-year-old journalist, told The Associated Press.

“Barros has been tapped by Pope Francis to become bishop of a southern Chilean diocese this month, provoking an unprecedented outcry by abuse victims and Catholic faithful who contend he covered up sexual abuse committed by his mentor and superior, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, in the 1980s and ’90s. A Vatican investigation found Karadima guilty in 2011 and sentenced the now 84-year-old priest to a cloistered life of ‘penitence and prayer’ for what is Chile’s highest-profile case of abuse by a priest.”

By Eva Vergara, Associated Press, in Star Tribune — Click here to read the rest of this story.

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