Pope sacks three Chilean child abuse cover-up bishops

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This 22 March 2015 video says about itself:

Catholic bishop heckled by opponents of child sex abuse

Newly named bishop of Osorno in Chile Juan Barros was pushed and shoved by demonstrators carrying black balloons as he squeezed through the crowd in Saint Matthew’s Church. Many Chilean Catholics say Barros covered up the sexual abuse of children committed by his superior Fr. Fernando Karadima Farina in the 1980s and ’90s.

Karadima was found guilty by the Vatican in 2011.

Read more here.

A 26 May 2018 video about Chile used to say about itself:

Why was Bishop Barros appointed in the first place?

Is the Church’s way of appointing bishops fit for purpose? Three years ago I wrote that the appointment of Bishop Barros to the diocese of Osorno would spell trouble for Pope Francis. Unfortunately, I was proved right. For the last three years, trouble has been rumbling.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of three Chilean bishops who play a central role in a child abuse scandal. The Vatican brought the news through a staff update on the website.

At the beginning of this year, Francis strongly defended one of the bishops, Juan Barros. Barros is said to have covered up sexual abuse by a pedophile priest. According to Pope Francis, anyone who accused Barros was guilty of slander.

The pope came under fire because of that remark. Especially in Chile, where people were protesting on the streets. A few days later, the pope apologized for his support for Barros. He appeared to have been misled by the Chilean bishops.

‘Emotional day’

At the end of January, Francis sent an abuse investigator to Chile. At the beginning of May he invited the 34 Chilean bishops in Rome. A week later they all offered their resignation.

The pope has now accepted three of the resignations. It is unclear whether he will do the same with the other 31 dismissals. …

One of the victims of sexual abuse by the priest, Juan Carlos Cruz, tweeted happily about the decision of the pope.

https://twitter.com/jccruzchellew/status/1006143179152818183