VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service
June 13, 2018
Arriving on his second visit to Chile, Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta said his mission to the country is a sign of Pope Francis’ closeness to the local church following devastating reports of sexual abuse and cover-ups by members of the clergy.
Speaking to journalists in Santiago June 12, the archbishop said his team’s pastoral mission includes providing “concrete technical and legal assistance to the dioceses in Chile so they may give adequate responses to each case of sexual abuse of minors committed by clergy or religious.”
Archbishop Scicluna, president of a board of review handling abuse cases within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Father Jordi Bertomeu Farnos, an official of the doctrinal congregation, visited Santiago June 12-13 before going to Osorno June 14-17.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of 61-year-old Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Chile, and two other Chilean bishops June 11. Bishop Barros’ appointment as head of the Diocese of Osorno in January 2015 sparked protest because of the bishop’s connection to Father Fernando Karadima, his former mentor. Father Karadima was sentenced to a life of prayer and penance by the Vatican after he was found guilty of sexually abusing boys.
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