Chile’s Bishops will be present in Rome this week for meetings with Pope Francis next week to discuss the clerical sexual abuse crisis in the Chilean Church.
Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz, the Archbishop-emeritus of Santiago, member of the “C9” Council of Cardinal Advisers, and a key player in the controversy, has let it be known that he plans not to attend.
The reasons Cardinal Errázuriz has apparently given are that he only recently got back from Rome, and has already given a report to the Holy Father on the “Barros Affair” – so called because it revolves around Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Chile, a protégé of the country’s most notorious paedophile Priest, Fernando Karadima.
The Cardinal’s decision to skip the meetings puts Pope Francis in a very delicate position.
The “report” is a 14-page document Cardinal Errázuriz gave to the Pope on “the trial of Fr Karadima and the ramifications of the case”.
The Cardinal stated: “So for that, I’ve already made my contribution.”
That a figure so central to the Church in Chile over the past three decades, as well as to the scandal and crisis facing the Church in the country at present, could feel that he is somehow personally exempt from attending these meetings is stunning.
Bishop Barros has long faced public accusations, which he rejects, of having played a major role in the coverup of his mentor’s crimes. Pope Francis appointed him to the see of Osorno in 2015, over the objections of laity and clergy alike.
During his visit to Chile at the start of the year, the Pope accused Barros’s accusers of “calumny”. After facing widespread criticism, the Pope set up a special investigation, led by Archbishop Charles Scicluna.
After reading Archbishop Scicluna’s 2300-page dossier, Pope Francis summoned the bishops of Chile to Rome. In a statement, he asked forgiveness of those he had offended, and said, “I have made serious mistakes in the assessment and perception of the situation, especially because of the lack of truthful and balanced information.”
Three victims at the centre of the Barros Affair – Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton, and José Andres Murillo – have all publicly declared that Cardinal Errázuriz is one of the Church leaders who misled the Pope.
At a press conference in Rome last Wednesday at the Foreign Press Club, following private meetings with the Pope, the victims agreed: “Cardinal Errázuriz covered up for more than five years the crimes of Karadima. According to canon law and for the victims, he’s a criminal who covered up for Karadima and his circle.”
Cardinal Errázuriz has consistently maintain his innocence.
What does the Pope do now?
Presumably Cardinal Errázuriz expects the Pope will let him stay away.
Chilean Catholics will be shocked and disappointed if Francis permits such indifference.
After all the public hoopla surrounding the listening sessions the Pope had with the victims he had accused of calumny, he told them, “There’s no turning back now.”
In the face of Cardinal Errazuriz’s decision to ignore such an important gathering of Chile’s entire Episcopate, the Pope must decide whether or not he will make good on that pledge.
Chile and the Catholic world are watching.
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