A 'frank' crisis meeting between Pope Francis and Chilean bishops ended yesterday with 'the firm intention to repair the damage done,' by the clerical abuse scandal in the Chilean Catholic Church, Pope Francis has said.
The four-day meeting between the pontiff and 34 Chilean bishops at the Vatican had taken place to address the cover-up of sexual abuse perpetrated by clergy in the Catholic Church. In a letter to the bishops, shared by the Vatican, Pope Francis said that a 'frank' conversation had taken place and that those present had discussed 'painful events regarding abuses – of minors, of power and of conscience'.
'We have delved into the seriousness [of the abuses] as well as the tragic consequences they have had, particularly for the victims,' the pope said, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
He marked 'the serious acts that have damaged ecclesial communion and weakened the work of the church in Chile in recent years'.
The pope said short, medium and long-term changes had been agreed to by the bishops, in order to 'restore justice and ecclesial communion', though he did not specify what they were. He said the meeting had concluded with a 'firm intention to repair the damage done,' and added: 'After these days of prayer and reflection, I send you to continue building a prophetic church that knows how to put what is important at its centre: service to the Lord in the hungry, in the imprisoned, in the migrant and in the abused.'
Speculations about resignations to come continue to hang over Chile's Catholic Church; its episcopal conference said earlier this month that it felt 'pain and embarrassment' over the abuse scandal.
Chile's abuse scandal has dominated not just the national church but the office of Pope Francis; he was previously heavily criticised for his vocal support of Bishop Juan Barros, a cleric accused of covering up child abuse by former priest Fernando Karadima, Barros' former mentor.
However, he later appointed one of the Vatican's most trusted sexual abuse investigators, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, to visit the South American country and meet with abuse victims and clergy there.
A landmark letter of apology by the pope came in April after reading Scicluna's 2,300-page report on the crisis, which included the testimony of 64 individuals. He said it caused him 'pain and shame' to read, and admitted 'serious mistakes' in his handling of the crisis. In April, Pope Francis Francis held four days of meetings with Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo, three men abused by Karadima when they were teenagers in Santiago.
A 2011 Vatican investigation found Karadima guilty of abusing boys in the 70s and 80s, but Karadima, who has always denied the allegations, never faced civilian justice due to the statute of limitations.
The Chilean Catholic Church has called for a 'drastic solution' to the scandal, and last month its head, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, said that Barros should resign.
Additional reporting by Reuters
