Outrage in Chile as Pope derides victims of abuse
BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
SANTIAGO — Pope Francis accused victims of Chile’s most notorious pedophile of slander Thursday, an astonishing end to a visit meant to help heal the wounds of a sex abuse scandal that has cost the Catholic Church its credibility in the country.
Francis said that until he sees proof that Bishop Juan Barros was complicit in covering up the sex crimes of the Rev. Fernando Karadimas, such accusations against Barros are “all calumny.”
The pope’s remarks drew shock from Chileans and immediate rebuke from victims and their advocates. They noted the accusers were deemed credible enough by the Vatican that it sentenced Karadima to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” for his crimes in 2011. A Chilean judge also found the victims to be credible, saying that while she had to drop criminal charges against Karadima because too much time had passed, proof of his crimes wasn’t lacking.
“As if I could have taken a selfie or a photo while Karadima abused me and others and Juan Barros stood by watching it all,” tweeted Barros’ most vocal accuser, Juan Carlos Cruz. “These people are truly crazy, and the pontiff talks about atonement to the victims. Nothing has changed, and his plea for forgiveness is empty.”
The Karadima scandal dominated Francis’ visit to Chile and the overall issue of sex abuse and church cover-up was likely to factor into his three-day trip to Peru that began late Thursday.
Karadima’s victims reported to church authorities as early as 2002 that he would kiss and fondle them in the swank Santiago parish he ran, but officials refused to believe them. Only when the victims went public with their accusations in 2010 did the Vatican launch an investigation that led to Karadima being removed from ministry.
The emeritus archbishop of Santiago subsequently apologized for having refused to believe the victims from the start.
Francis reopened the wounds of the scandal in 2015 when he named Barros, a protege of Karadima, as bishop of the southern diocese of Osorno. Karadima’s victims say Barros knew of the abuse, having seen it, but did nothing. Barros has denied the allegations.
His appointment outraged Chileans, badly divided the Osorno diocese and further undermined the church’s already shaky credibility in the country.
15 comments:
No surprises here.
Every bishop who knowingly allowed perverts to function as clergymen-in-good-standing should themselves have been removed from the ranks of the clergy. In this case, it's evident that the bishop knew what was going on, however much he resisted that knowledge.
What to make of this? Another display of his famous temper brought on by jet lag, exhaution, and a reluctance to take advice from others. It could also be resentment towards questioning his judgement selecting associates. The good news is he likes making a mess. He should be happy as a pig in mud.
If it were Pope Benedict who did that he would be the headline all day long on CNN and the rest of the fake news outlets. They also forgot to mention that Francis’ buddy Cardinal Danneels,(who it was PROVEN to have covered up the abuse by Bishop Roger Vangheluwe on his own nephew from the ages of 5 - 18) was called out of his forced reteirment to be part of the “stacked deck” in the synod which did NOT approve communion for adulterers but which Francis inserted in AL. So the media like Francis apparently doesn’t have a problem with sin or human error as long as it is done by a fellow liberal.
Anonymous said..."If it were Pope Benedict who did that he would be the headline all day long on CNN and the rest of the fake news outlets. So the media like Francis apparently doesn’t have a problem with sin or human error as long as it is done by a fellow liberal."
Wrong. For years, fake news outlets have trashed His Holiness Pope Francis in the same manner in which fake news outlets trashed Pope Benedict XVI. I have scanned some news outlets for you.
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The Boston Globe
Pope Francis has done nothing to prevent sex abuse
https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/09/19/pope-francis-has-done-nothing-prevent-sex-abuse/q0ehzyO5MYw4GTKsgC9doM/story.html
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Liberal Pope Francis now defending child molestors
https://247sports.com/.../Liberal-Pope-Francis-now-defending-child-molestors-11391...
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SHOCK: Pope Francis Goes Easy on Child Molesters
https://conservativetribune.com/pope-francis-sick-gift-molesters/
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Insider: Pope’s Child Abuse Commission Is ‘Smoke and Mirrors’
Pope Francis portrays himself as a man who leads by example, but his protection of bishops who protected child-abusing priests continues.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/insider-popes-child-abuse-commission-is-smoke-and-mirrors
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Pope Francis Accused of Shielding Priests Who Sexually Abused Children
https://news.vice.com/article/pope-francis-accused-of-shielding-priests-who-sexually-abused-children
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Report: Pope Francis Refuses To Punish Pedophile Priests
www.patheos.com/blogs/.../02/report-pope-francis-refuses-punish-pedophile-priests/
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The above is just the tip of the iceberg in regard to the manner in which news media outlets have lied in regard to Pope Francis and the topic in question.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
9 Myths about Priestly Pedophilia
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/common-misconceptions/9-myths-about-priestly-pedophilia.html
Pax.
Mark Thomas
How many years before Chile, nay South and Central America, become majority Evangelical and Pentecostal Protestants?
Wow. Mark Thomas just proved that zFrancis is covering up child abuse. Francis should resign ASAP.Thanks Mark.
Mark Thomas -
Alright so, the playing field is somewhat level however, I suspect it was ever so slightly more sensationalized with Benedict XVI. But, fine. Whatever.
What I find interesting is that you choose to provide a head-spinning number of hyperlinks defending equality of bad press but, no comments regarding the lost golden opportunity to attempt to heal some of the wounds that have caused profound hurt in addition to, and as mentioned by Victor, the Church hemorrhaging people to other groups.
ByzRC,
Making a reasoned argument isn't MT's strong suit. It's feelinnnnnnnnnnnnns, whoa, whoa, feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelings
Mark Thomas,
Do you have any links in which Pope Francis preaches about Christ as the only way of salvation, calls people to repentance and conversion, and extols the importance of the Catholic Church in strengthening the spiritual life of the faithful? I ask this sincerely since I often wonder how much these papal trips actually cultivate the spiritual life of the faithful and call non-Christians to conversion. From my perspective, they all seem focused on promoting good will among people and supporting the political common good.
ByzRC said..."Mark Thomas - Alright so, the playing field is somewhat level however, I suspect it was ever so slightly more sensationalized with Benedict XVI. But, fine. Whatever."
ByzRC, you may be correct. There isn't any question that Pope Benedict XVI was the victim of lies in regard to the topic at hand.
One thing is certain: Anonymous' notion that the fake news media have given Pope Francis a pass in regard to the issue of child abuse is nonsense.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
As a mere historian, I don't know which is worse - Mark Thomas's selective quotation or Fr Kavanaugh's refusal to acknowledge cause and effect.
Adam Michael said..."Mark Thomas, Do you have any links in which Pope Francis preaches about Christ as the only way of salvation, calls people to repentance and conversion..."
Pope Francis has, time and again, promoted the Holy Sacrament of Penance. He has, time and again, exhorted us to go to Confession...to reform our lives...to embrace holiness.
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"Mark Thomas, Do you have any links in which Pope Francis preaches about Christ as the only way of salvation..."
Yes. Here are a few for starters:
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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-jesus-is-the-only-door-to-eternal-life-43358
Pope: Jesus is the only door to eternal life
Vatican City, Apr 18, 2016 / 10:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking at morning Mass at the Santa Marta residence, Pope Francis on Monday urged the faithful not to seek salvation through anyone but Jesus alone, because he is the only way into heaven.
“The Lord thus clearly says: you cannot enter eternal life by any entryway that is not the door – that is not Jesus,” the Pope said during his April 18 homily, according to Vatican Radio's translation. “He is the door of our life – and not only of eternal life, but also of our daily lives.”
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Catholic World News
https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=17525
Pope Francis: salvation only in Jesus
April 08, 2013
In his weekday Mass homily on April 5, Pope Francis spoke of devotion to the name of Jesus and emphasized that salvation is found only in him.
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Pope Francis is under attack for saying that outside the Church there is no salvation:
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2013/06/03/pope-francis-is-under-attack-for-saying-that-outside-the-church-there-is-no-salvation-its-a-poke-in-the-eye-says-one-presbyterian-why-hes-wrong/
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Pope Francis Decrees That Christian Salvation Is Only Through The Roman Catholic Church
https://www.inquisitr.com/1321037/pope-francis-decrees-that-christian-salvation-is-only-through-the-roman-catholic-church/
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Pax.
Mark Thomas
Thanks, Mark Thomas. This is encouraging.
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