All 34 Chilean bishops speaking at a Vatican news conference of Friday about the cover-up of sexual abuse in their country have offered their resignation to Pope Francis, the bishops announced today.
Decisions about the bishops’ fate will be decided by Pope Francis in the ensuing weeks, where he can accept or reject the resignations.
This unprecedented move came after revelations that as a young man the future Osorno’s Bishop Juan Barros had witnessed sexual abuse of young men by his mentor, Fr Fernando Karadima, who the Vatican sentenced in 2011 to a life of prayer and penance after it found him guilty of sexually abusing boys.
Although when visiting Chile in January, the Pontiff said that there is not “one piece of evidence” against Bishop Barros, he apologised to victims of Fr Karadima last month following a 2,300-page report produced by Maltese Archbishop Scicluna. The report also prompted him to summon all 34 Chilean bishops as well as three survivors of Fr Karadima’s abuse.
Pope Francis and the Chilean bishops met in Rome May 15-17, and, in a document distributed to the bishops which was later leaked to Chilean media, the Pope told the Chilean bishops that he “sincerely asked forgiveness” to the three survivors and acknowledged the bishop’s commitment to “repair the damages caused”. He also noted that removing people from positions of authority “must be done, but it’s not enough, we must go further”.
Today, in response to the Pontiff, the bishops wrote a statement thanking him for listening to them and for his “fraternal correction”, saying that they want to “specially ask for forgiveness for the pain caused to the victims, the Pope, the People of God and the country for our grave errors and omissions”.
“Thank you to the victims, for their perseverance and their bravery, despite the enormous personal spiritual, social, and family difficulties they’ve had to face so many times, amidst the incomprehension and the attacks from the ecclesial community itself,” the bishops wrote.
“Once again, we implore their forgiveness and help to continue moving forth in the pat of healing and cauterization of the wounds.”