Pope Francis Angers Victims of Sex Abuse after Calling Protesters "Dumb"

By Nick Squires
The Telegraph
October 8, 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/the-pope/11919748/Pope-Francis-angers-victims-of-sex-abuse-after-calling-protesters-dumb.html

The pope's remarks were filmed on an iPad Photo: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP

Pope Francis has angered groups protesting against clerical sex abuse by calling them “dumb”, raising doubts about his commitment to tackling an issue that has shattered trust in the Catholic Church worldwide.

The Pope made the remarks during an audience in St Peter’s Square, directing them at a group of Catholics from the city of Osorno in Chile who have held protests against a local bishop accused of complicity in a sex abuse scandal.

“The Osorno community is suffering because it’s dumb ... It has let its head be filled with what politicians say, judging a bishop without any proof,” the South American pontiff said.

“Don’t be led by the nose by the Leftists who orchestrated all of this.” He made the remarks in May but they have only just emerged.

They were filmed by an Argentine tourist on an iPad and recently obtained by a television channel in Chile.

The bishop at the centre of the affair is Juan Barros, who is accused of protecting a paedophile priest, Fernando Karadima.

Rev. Juan Barros, centre, attends his ordination ceremony as bishop in Osorno, southern Chile Photo: AP

Father Karadima was found guilty of sexual abuses by the Vatican in 2011 and ordered to live a life of seclusion, prayer and penitence.

According to some of his victims, Bishop Barros was present in the priest’s bedroom when the abuse took place. Bishop Barros has denied the allegations against him.

Despite those accusations, the Vatican went ahead in making him a bishop in March, saying that it had examined his candidacy "and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment."

There have been protests and candlelight vigils against him ever since in Osorno, 560 miles south of Santiago.

“The Pope’s comments aggravated our discontent,” said Juan Carlos Claret, a protester against the bishop.

“We are now seeing the real face of Pope Francis, and we demand an explanation.”

Juan Carlos Cruz, one of the victims of the abuse, said that Bishop Barros often watched Father Karadima molesting children.

He said: “The Pope’s statements are not surprising, but it is sad. The vision of a Pope closer to abuse victims has been unmasked.”

David Clohessy, from the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP, said: “These hurtful and arrogant remarks reveal a lot about Francis. His ostensibly gentle demeanour masks some ugly feelings about abuse victims and lay Catholics.

“For Francis, like most other Catholic officials, it’s apparently easy to mouth pious generalities about victims but harder to side with them when they expose one of your brother bishops as complicit in child sex crimes.”

He called on the Pope to “demote Barros and stop elevating clerics who conceal, enable and minimise heinous crimes against children.”

Mr Clohessy noted that as the archbishop of Buenos Aires, the Pope – then Jorge Mario Bergoglio – had refused to meet victims of sex abuse.

In March 2014 the Pope created a special pontifical commission to advise him on how better to address the scourge of paedophile clergy but critics say he has taken few concrete steps against predatory priests and the bishops who protect them.

Several members of the commission expressed their anger over Bishop Barros’ appointment in March.

The furore over the bishop is likely to be a major challenge for the Vatican when the Pope visits Chile next year.