Pope admits ‘errors’ in sex scandal
POPE Francis admitted yesterday he made “grave errors” in judgment in Chile’s sex abuse scandal and invited the victims he had discredited to Rome to beg their forgiveness.
In an extraordinary public letter, Pope Francis also summoned all of Chile’s bishops to the Vatican for an emergency meeting in the coming weeks to discuss repairing the damage from the scandal, which has badly tarnished his reputation and that of the Chilean church.
Pope Francis blamed a lack of “truthful and balanced information” for his missteps in judging the case of Bishop Juan Barros, a protege of Chile’s most notorious predator priest, the Rev Fernando Karadima. The Pope strongly defended the bishop during his January visit to Chile despite accusations by victims that Barros had witnessed and ignored their abuse.
“I am convinced he is innocent,” the Pope insisted. After causing an outcry, Pope Francis sent the Vatican’s most respected sex abuse investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, to look into the scandal. While his letter didn’t reveal his ultimate conclusions about Barros, Pope Francis made clear he and the bishops have a lot of work to do to turn the Chilean church around.
In his letter, Pope Francis said: “For my part, I recognise – and so I want it to be faithfully transmitted – that I have fallen in grave errors of judgment and perception of the situation, especially due to the lack of truthful and balanced information.”