Catholic church authorities in the Chilean city of Rancagua yesterday suspended 14 priests who are being investigated for 'improper conduct', in a development that once again brought Chile under the spotlight when it comes to clerical sexual abuse.
The suspensions were announced after a meeting of 68 priests of the diocese of Rancagua, which is located to the south of capital city Santiago.
'Precautionary measures have been adopted,' Gabriel Becerra, vicar general of Rancagua, told reporters.
Earlier yesterday the Vatican said Pope Francis would host a second group of victims of clerical sexual abuse in Chile, days after the country's bishops all offered to resign over the scandal.
The pope earlier this month met three men who were victims of a priest, Fernando Karadima, accused of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s. The second group includes priests who also fell foul of the same disgraced churchman, the Vatican said.
The five men, accompanied by two other priests who have helped them and two lay people, will see the pope from June 1-3, it was announced.
'We deeply regret any act or situation that violates the values and principles that underpin our Catholic Church and we want to express our solidarity with the victims,' said a statement later issued by the diocese.
Karadima, now 87, was found guilty by the Vatican of sexually assaulting children in 2011. He was barred from clerical duties and sentenced to a lifetime of 'penance and prayer'.
Over the weekend, Bishop Alejandro Goić Karmelić suspended several priests after allegations of sexual misconduct were raised against them, and apologised for not following up when the accusations were first brought to his attention.
'I would like to ask forgiveness for my actions in this case,' the bishop said on May 19.
Goić, who heads the diocese of Rancagua, said he 'acted without the proper swiftness' when a woman came to him nearly a year ago with concerns regarding the conduct of Fr Luis Rubio and other priests, the Catholic News Agency reported.
Goić's apology came a day after a programme detailing accusations against Rubio was aired on Chile's TV13 channel, the same TV station that leaked Pope Francis' 10-page letter to Chilean bishops chastising them for a systematic cover-up of clerical abuse and calling on them to instigate major reforms.
The programme focussed on the testimony of Eliza Fernandez, a youth minister in the parish of Paredones who approached the bishop last year with concerns about Rubio's behavior, especially with minors.
Rubio had been part of a priestly fraternity known as 'La Familia', several of whose members have been accused of sexual misconduct, including the abuse of minors.
'I do not know whether to call it a brotherhood, a sect, or a group of priests who have practices that do not conform to their status as clerics; and with respect to young people,' Fernandez said in the programme, adding that the confraternity had shown an unnatural interest in youth who were 'between 15 and 29 years old' and that some publicly joked about being homosexual.
Rubio admitted in the programme to sending nude photos of himself to a Facebook account he thought belonged to a 16-year-old named Pablo, but which was a fake profile Fernandez had set up to catch the priest.
Approached by TV13 reporters after celebrating Mass on May 12, Rubio in the footage admitted to sending the pictures, saying 'it was my mistake, I acknowledge that' and called the act 'a horrible shame'.
Asked if he would remain a priest, Rubio said 'it's a decision that I need to make in my conscience'. He said the day was one 'of great sadness for me, and I regret what I have done...I recognise what I have done, that it is horrible, but I cannot say anything more'.
Goić suspended several diocesan priests mentioned in the TV13 programme, asking them to halt their ministry until a full investigation can be completed.
'I deeply regret any action or situation that violates the values and principles that underpin our Catholic Church and I want to express my clear availability to collaborate in any type of procedure which derives from the knowledge of these facts,' he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters.
