Chilean Alleges Sex Abuse Cover-Up, Asks Pope to Sack Bishop
February 7, 2016
VATICAN
CITY — A man who says he was sexually abused by a priest on Sunday
delivered two letters addressed to Pope Francis from Chilean Catholics
asking him to remove a Chilean bishop accused of protecting a notorious
pedophile.
Juan
Carlos Cruz delivered the letters with Peter Saunders, a prominent and
outspoken British member of a papal advisory commission on sexual abuse
by the clergy. Saunders on Saturday refused to step down despite a
no-confidence vote, and said only the pope could dismiss him.
The
letters were left for Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston, the president
of the commission, at a Rome guest house where the commission was
meeting. O'Malley was asked to give them to the pope, Saunders and Cruz
said.
The
letters involve Juan Barros, who was installed last year as bishop of
Osorno. The papal appointment outraged many parishioners, national
legislators and abuse victims who said Barros had protected a priest
accused of having been one of the nation's most notorious sexual
predators.
The priest in question has denied he abused Cruz and the bishop has denied knowledge of any wrongdoing.
"The
devastation that your decision has caused us, Pope Francis, cannot
withstand any more silence or omission," said one of the letters, signed
by about 30 representatives of parishes in Osorno. "We have knocked on
every door ... and have received nothing but mockery."
Cruz,
51, sent a copy of one of the Spanish-language letters along with a
statement in English to reporters. The other was a private letter to the
pope from clergy in Osorno, Cruz said.
Critics in Chile say Barros was aware of and helped cover up abuse by Father Fernando Karadima, 85.
In
2011, the Vatican sentenced Karadima to "a life of prayer and
penitence" for abusing children as far back as the 1950s. A judge later
ruled the accusations were valid though Karadima was not prosecuted
because of the statute of limitations.
Cruz
says he was sexually abused by Karadima when he was 16. Karadima has
denied the accusations. Barros denies he had any knowledge that abuse
took place.
The
letter asks the pope to "consider the consequences" of the division
that the appointment of Barros has caused in the Catholic community.
In
a statement accompanying the letter, Cruz said "We can never give up
when it comes to protecting children and this is not the message being
sent by Pope Francis appointing Bishop Barros to Osorno. This bishop
witnessed my own abuse and that of many other boys over a period of 35
years."
Last
year, a Vatican spokesman said the Holy See had "carefully examined the
prelate's candidature and did not find objective reasons to preclude
the appointment".
The Osorno controversy has taken on national implications.
During
one incident at the Vatican last year which was broadcast by a Chilean
television station, Francis told a group of Chileans that the
accusations were cooked up by "lefties".
Last
November, the country's Supreme Court formally requested that the
Vatican hand over all records that the pope relied upon to defend
Barros.
(Editing by Stephen Powell)
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