All Chilean bishops present resignation over sex abuse scandal

Chile's Bishops with Pope Francis

The 34 bishops of Chile were in Rome this week, meeting with Pope Francis. He summoned them to the Vatican in the wake of a child abuse scandal and cover-up. At the end of the meeting all offered their resignation to the Pope.

At the close of their three-day meeting with Pope Francis, all Chile's bishops asked victims of the country's abuse scandal for forgiveness and presented written resignations to the Pope, who must decide whether to accept or reject them. In a written 18 May statement, the bishops thanked Pope Francis for his "paternal listening and fraternal correction," and asked forgiveness for the pain caused from victims, the Pope, the People of God and the country because of their "serious errors and omissions."

In the statement, the bishops thanked Maltese Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Spanish Msgr. Jordi Bertomeu for an in-depth investigation of the crisis they carried out earlier this year. They also thanked victims for their "perseverance and courage, despite the enormous personal, spiritual, social and familial difficulties they have had to face, "many times in the midst of incomprehension and attacks from their own ecclesial community."

They asked for the victims' help going forward and said that at the end of their last session with the Pope on 17 May, each of the active bishops presented a written resignation and will await the Pope's decision to either accept or reject it. The bishops are expected to return to their dioceses and continue their work as usual until hearing from the Pope, who will either reject their resignation, accept it immediately, or put it into effect only once a new bishop is named.

The gathering between the Pope and the 34 Chilean bishops was called for by Pope Francis himself last month following Scicluna and Bertomeu's investigation into abuse cover-up by Church hierarchy in Chile. The investigation was initially centered around Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, appointed to the diocese in 2015 and accused by at least one victim of covering up abuses of Chilean priest Fernando Karadima. In 2011, Karadima was convicted by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of abusing minors and sentenced to a life of prayer and solitude. Allegations of cover-up were also made against three other bishops - Andrés Arteaga, Tomislav Koljatic and Horacio Valenzuela - whom Karadima's victims accuse of knowing about Karadima's crimes and failing to act.

Pope Francis initially defended Barros, saying he had received no evidence of the bishop's guilt, and called accusations against him "calumny" during a trip to Chile in January. However, after receiving Scicluna's report, Francis apologized and asked to meet the bishops and survivors in person. In some cases, the Pope wrote, it took months for complaints to be investigated, and in others they were not investigated at all. In still other cases, he said, there was clear evidence of, "very serious negligence in the protection of children and vulnerable children on the part of bishops and religious superiors".

In the wider letter, Pope Francis stressed the need to recognise not only the damage done, but also the underlying causes that led to abuse and cover-up and to identify ways to repair the pain and suffering many have endured. He said the problem is not isolated, but everyone is responsible, "I being the first," and that no one can be exempted by "moving the problem onto the backs of others". "We need a change, we know it, we need it and we desire it," he said, and encouraged bishops to put Christ at the centre. He said that in recent history, the Chilean Church has lost this focus, putting itself at the centre instead of the Lord.

"This will change things forever," tweeted Juan Carlos Cruz, who was abused by Fr Karadima in the 1980s. José Andrés Murillo, another victim, said Pope Francis should accept the mass resignation offer. "They did not know how to protect the weakest, exposed them to abuses, and then prevented justice," he wrote on Twitter; "that's why they all deserve to go."