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Thursday, January 18, 2018

Pope Francis & Bishop Juan Barros

Back in 2015, Pope Francis installed Juan de la Cruz Barros as bishop of Osorno, Chile, over the vehement protests of local Catholics ... Barros had been credibly accused of covering up sexual abuse by his mentor, pedophile priest Fernando Karadima.

The protests in 2015 when the bishop was installed ...



The Pope has just visited Chile, and he managed to make the situation even worse ...

Pope Francis Has Defended a Chilean Bishop Accused of Covering Up Sex Crimes

Pope Francis accused victims of Chile’s most notorious pedophile of slander Thursday, an astonishing end to a visit meant to help heal the wounds of a sex abuse scandal that has cost the Catholic Church its credibility in the country. Francis said that until he sees proof that Bishop Juan Barros was complicit in covering up the sex crimes of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, such accusations against Barros are “all calumny.”

The pope’s remarks drew shock from Chileans and immediate rebuke from victims and their advocates. They noted the accusers were deemed credible enough by the Vatican that it sentenced Karadima to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” for his crimes in 2011. A Chilean judge also found the victims to be credible, saying that while she had to drop criminal charges against Karadima because too much time had passed, proof of his crimes wasn’t lacking.

[snip]

Anne Barrett Doyle, of the online database BishopAccountability.org, said it was “sad and wrong” for the pope to discredit the victims since “the burden of proof here rests with the church, not the victims — and especially not with victims whose veracity has already been affirmed.” “He has just turned back the clock to the darkest days of this crisis,” she said in a statement. “Who knows how many victims now will decide to stay hidden, for fear they will not be believed?” ....


I'm not surprised. Pope Francis, despite being seen by many as a reformer, has a pretty bad reputation on the handling of the sex abuse issue ... Vatican Sex Abuse Scandal Reveals Blind Spot for Francis

Some examples : choosing Cardinal Pell for one of the highest jobs at the Vatican, giving Cardinal Law a state funeral at St. Peter's, pooping on his own sex abuse commission, protecting from civil prosecution former Dominican Republic nuncio Wesolowski and that Vatican diplomat in Washing DC with child porn on his computer, and now shaming sex abuse victims in Chile.

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