IN THE CHURCH
tvc.dsj.org | June 19, 2018
21
Pope Accepts Resignations of Three Chilean Bishops in Wake of Scandal
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- After an
in-depth Vatican-led investigation into
clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups,
Pope Francis accepted the resignation
of 61-year-old Bishop Juan Barros of
Osorno, Chile, and two other Chilean
bishops June 11.
The two other bishops, who had
reached the customary retirement age
of 75, were Archbishop Cristian Caro
Cordero of Puerto Montt and Bishop
Gonzalo Duarte Garcia de Cortazar of
Valparaiso.
The pope named apostolic admin-
istrators to run each diocese in the
meantime: Mercedarian Father Ricardo
Basilio Morales Galindo, Chilean pro-
vincial, for the Archdiocese of Puerto
Montt; Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Ossan-
don Buljevic of Santiago for the Diocese
of Valparaiso; and Auxiliary Bishop
Jorge Concha Cayuqueo of Santiago for
the Diocese of Osorno.
The announcement came as Pope
Francis was sending his Vatican tea-
back to Chile to promote healing from
the abuse crisis.
Archbishop Charles Scicluna of
Malta and Father Jordi Bertomeu
Farnos were set to visit the Diocese of
Osorno “with the aim of advancing
the process of reparation and healing
of abuse victims,” the Vatican said in
a statement May 31.
Abuse survivors have alleged that
when Bishop Barros was still a priest
he witnessed their abuse by his men-
tor, Father Fernando Karadima. In 2011,
Father Karadima was sentenced to a life
of prayer and penance by the Vatican
after he was found guilty of sexually
abusing boys.
Archbishop Scicluna, who is presi-
dent of a board of review handling
abuse cases within the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Father
Bertomeu, an offi cial of the doctrinal
congregation, were scheduled to be
in Santiago June 12-13 before going to
Osorno June 14-17.
Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Chile, center,
arrives in procession for Pope Francis’ celebra-
tion of Mass near Temuco, Chile, Jan. 17. The
pope has accepted the resignation of Bishop
Barros, who has been accused of covering up
sexual abuse he personally witnessed. (CNS
photo/Paul Haring)
The resignation of Bishop Barros
comes after years of accusations and
questions concerning his knowledge of
abuse by his mentor and protests when
Pope Francis appointed the then-head
of the military ordinariate to head the
Diocese of Osorno in 2015.
The pope continued to defend his
appointment, telling reporters: “The
day they bring me proof against Bishop
Barros, I will speak. There is not one
piece of evidence against him. It is
calumny.”
A short time later, the Vatican an-
nounced Pope Francis was sending
Archbishop Scicluna and Father Ber-
tomeu to Chile to listen to people with
information about Bishop Barros.
After receiving their 2,300-page re-
port detailing the extent of clergy sexual
abuse in Chile, the pope apologized.
In a letter released April 11, Pope
Francis said he had been mistaken in
his assessment of the situation in Chile,
and he begged for forgiveness from
survivors and others he off ended. He
met survivors at the Vatican and has
been strong in his criticism of how the
Chilean bishops handled the situation.
All the Chilean bishops off ered their
resignations to the pope in response
to their handling of the crisis.
Dominican Sisters, Women of Faith, Decry Policy of Separating Families
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A woman’s
religious order and a group of women
of all faiths are taking a stance against
the Trump administration’s policy of
separating families by taking children
into custody and sending parents to
detention centers at the U.S.-Mexico
border.
The Adrian Dominican Sisters,
based in Adrian, Michigan, called
for “an immediate end to the morally
reprehensible practice” in a June 11
statement.
The sisters said the policy of chil-
dren being taken into government
custody while their parents are sent
away from them -- with no way of com-
A mother and her two children rest at a Catho-
lic migrant shelter. (CNS photo/David Maung)
municating and no way of knowing
when they will be reunited -- indicates
“the nation has lost its moral compass.”
Madagascar’s Cardinal-Designate
Works Quietly for Improvements for Poor
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) –
Cardinal-designate Desire Tsarahazana
of Toamasina, Madagascar, is a quiet
leader who is as comfortable talking to
political leaders in plush offi ces as he
is walking long distances to converse
with people in remote villages, said
a Catholic Relief Services offi cial. The
cardinal-designate has a “quiet and
respectful style of leadership” as well
as “an incredible balance,” said Joshua
Poole, CRS’ country representative in
Madagascar. Poole, who in his role as
country director for the U.S. church’s
overseas relief and development agency
has worked with Cardinal-designate
Tsarahazana for three years, described
the cardinal in a June 11 email to Catho-
lic News Service. “He can easily shift
from a meeting with the prime minis-
ter to speaking with a small group” of
parishioners, he said. However, he does
seem to feel “most at home and at peace
in the countryside, building relation-
ships and talking with the people in
villages,” Poole said
They are calling on Congress “to en-
act long-overdue immigration reform
that enjoys broad public support and
refl ects American values.”
More than 1,200 women of all faiths
have signed a letter to U.S. Secretary of
Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen,
which also calls for an immediate end
to the practice of separating families.
The letter states that “many of these
families seek to apply for asylum; by
international law, these families should
receive a fair hearing, not immediately
be judged as criminals.”
The letter also states that “a soci-
ety is measured by how we care for
the most vulnerable among us” and
describes how the Trump administra-
tion’s policy, instead of comforting the
vulnerabl e children who have crossed
the border, “adds to this trauma by
ripping these children away from their
families.”
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson
for the U.N. high commissioner for hu-
man rights, also condemned the Trump
administration’s policy, saying in a
June 5 briefi ng in Geneva that “the use
of immigration detention and family
separation as a deterrent runs counter
to human rights standards and prin-
ciples,” The Associated Press reported.
“There is nothing normal about
detaining children,” she said.
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