Pope Francis has personally written a letter to Chile’s bishops to thank them for changes they have made to their response to allegations of sexual abuse by clergy. Francis’s handwritten letter follows the bishops’ formal, written apology for failing to listen to clerical abuse victims. In addition to their apology, the bishops have made a Read more
Pope Francis has accepted Bishop Juan Barros’s resignation. Anti-abuse activists called the move the Vatican’s first concrete step in Chile to purge a corrupt church hierarchy implicated in decades of sexual mistreatment and ignoring victims. Barros of Osorno, Chile, has been at the centre of a sex abuse scandal for several years, having been accused Read more
Only twice in history has a pope asked for the resignation of an entire episcopate: Last week, when the entire episcopate of Chile offered their resignations to the pope, and in 1802, when Pope Pius VII removed both the orthodox, validly installed bishops of France and the rival slate of schismatic bishops never recognized by Read more
The Chilean bishops announced their collective resignation last Friday following a series of sex abuse cases that have shaken the church. But far from ending the crisis, the decision heralds the beginning of a long rebuilding process in which Pope Francis will have a free hand to choose their successors. After their week in Rome, Read more
All 34 of Chile’s bishops resigned on Friday after Pope Francis accused them of “grave negligence” and of destroying evidence of sex crimes. Their resignation followed four sessions with Francis in which they had to explain their actions. Francis then wrote to them. He asked them to make a “frank discernment in the face of Read more
Thirty Chilean bishops are in Rome to meet with Pope Francis. Francis summoned them to the Vatican last month. He wants to discuss short, medium and long-term reforms to the church. Francis has admitted he made “grave errors in judgment” about Bishop Juan Barros’s role in covering up sexual abuse perpetrated by Fr Fernando Karadima. Read more
Pope Francis has asked forgiveness from the victims of clerical sexual abuse in Chile after receiving a report by the papal envoy, Bishop Charles Scicluna. “I have made serious mistakes in the assessment and my perception of the situation, especially due to a lack of truthful and balanced information,” the Pope said in a letter Read more