Chile ruling clears ex-bishop in sex case

SANTIAGO, Chile — An appeals court in Chile has ratified the dismissal of sex-crime charges against a former Roman Catholic bishop who had been forced to resign while under a Vatican investigation.

The court ruled Friday that there wasn’t enough evidence of a crime committed by the Rev. Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandez, who resigned as bishop of the far-northern city of Iquique in 2012.

He was accused of abusing an altar boy and acknowledged “an imprudent act,” but said the youth was 17 when they met in 1999 and that their relationship began when the man was no longer underage.

His accuser had said the abuse began when he was 15. He said at first it was forced, but they later became lovers.

The ruling came a week after Pope Francis’ visit to Chile was marked by protests over the church’s handling of sexabuse cases involving other clerics, notably those linked to the former Rev. Fernando Karadima, who had been a prominent priest.

During his visit, the pontiff expressed “pain and shame for the damage to the children on the part of members of the church,” though he angered some Chileans by defending Bishop Juan Barrios, who had been accused of covering up crimes committed by others. Francis said there was no evidence of that.

Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Ordenes as the church investigated the allegations against him.