Pope Francis has asked for an annual audit providing a “reliable account on what is presently being done and what needs to change” to protect children and vulnerable adults from predator clergy. Each country will contribute to the audit evaluating how national Catholic Churches are implementing such measures. “Without more transparency the faithful will continue Read more
Pope Francis has appointed a prominent Chilean survivor of clerical sex abuse to a Vatican commission that focuses on education to prevent abuse in the Catholic Church. Juan Carlos Cruz, an international advocate for abuse victims, has been appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The 59-year-old Cruz was abused as a Read more
Pope Francis has accepted Chilean Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati’s resignation and immediately named a temporary replacement. Ezzati’s resignation came after he was placed under criminal investigation in the country’s spiralling church sex abuse and cover-up scandal. Spanish-born Capuchin friar and current bishop of Copiapo, Chile, Monsignor Celestino Aos Braco will replace Ezzati in the interim. Ezzati, Read more
A Chilean court has ruled the Archdiocese of Santiago prevented a thorough investigation into sexual abuses committed by a former priest, Fernando Karadima. Survivors believe they have won a major victory in their quest for justice as the original lawsuit they brought before the court was dismissed five years ago. However, new evidence obtained from 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
Two Chilean prelates conspired to block a well-known sex abuse survivor from being named to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Leaked emails from 2013 and 2014 between Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago and his predecessor Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz showtheir efforts to block the appointment of Juan Carlos Cruz. The cardinals feared Read more