Pope accepts Chilean bishop's resignation
In January, Pope ROME — Francis deeply offended survivors of clerical abuse and threatened the reputation of his pontificate when he defended a Chilean bishop from the “calumny” of victims and said that he had refused the bishop’s offers of resignation.
On Mo n day, Francis accepted the resignation of that bishop, Juan Barros of Osorno.
The resignation of Barros and of two other bishops in Chile is a remarkable reversal for Francis. Only months ago, the Chilean scandal represented an enormous threat to the pope’s credibility. Now, abuse victims and their advocates express hope that a new era is beginning in which bishops and the church hierarchy will be held accountable for covering up and ignor
ing abuse.
“Today begins a new day for the Catholic Church in Chile and hopefully the world,” Juan Carlos Cruz, a
victim of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, one of Chile’s most notorious abusive priests, wrote on Twitter on Monday. The priest was a men- tor of Barros, who Cruz says
witnessed his abuse and did nothing.
Cruz added that Francis, whom he has met with for hours of private and emo- tional talks in recent weeks, “has started the firing of bish- ops who are abusers or have covered up. We hope this is the beginning of the end of this culture of abuse and cover up in the Church. Emo- tional but great day!” The pope also accepted the resignations of Cristián Caro Cordero, bishop of Puerto Montt, and Gonzalo Duarte García de Cortázar, bishop of Valparaíso, both of whom are 75, the mandatory retirement age for bishops in the church. Barros, who is accused of witnessing and covering up abuse, is 61. He denies the allegations against him. The removal of the bish- ops could herald what many church observers predict will be widespread firings of Chile’s bishops, all of whom tendered their resignations in May. The pope has already
lamented the country’s “culture of abuse and cover-up.”
The pope doubled down on his defense of Barros in January during a trip to Chile, in which he said he had never seen any proof against the bishop. Remarkably, some of Francis’ closest associates, including Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, the city at the center of the U.S. abuse crisis, distanced themselves from the pope.