Chile bishops to meet Pope in Rome after sex abuse scandal

CHILE
Reuters

May 10, 2018

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s Roman Catholic Church said on Thursday that more than 30 bishops would meet next week with Pope Francis in Rome in an attempt to make amends for the damage caused by a sex abuse scandal that has long plagued the country’s clergy.

Days ahead of the meeting, Chile’s Episcopal Conference, a group of bishops that leads the Church, said in a statement that it felt the same “pain and embarrassment” expressed in April by Pope Francis after meeting with victims of Fernando Karadima, a former Chilean priest accused of pedophilia.

Chile’s bishops will travel to Rome from May 14-17.

“Pope Francis’ embrace [of these victims] serves as an example for the Church as it confronts accusations of abuse of conscience, sexual abuse and any other abuse of power that may have occurred in our communities,” the conference said.

Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.