Jhelaine Palo | On 25, Jan 2018

Pope Francis reopened a big controversy when he defended the Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, who was accused of covering up a notorious pedophile priest Father Fernando Karadima on January 16, 2018.

In the year 2002, the victims of Father Karadima’s sexual abuse reported to authorities of the church that he would “kiss and fondle” them in the Santiago parish he ran; however, officials refused to believe them.

The victims went public with their accusations in 2010. It led to an investigation and also removed Father Karadima from the ministry. Four men filed a criminal complaint that Fr. Karadima sexually abused them in secret for years. A chilean judge found the victims to be credible enough. But criminal charges had to be dropped against Karadima, because too much time had passed and the limitations had expired although proof of his crimes was “not lacking.” The emeritus archbishop of Santiago subsequently apologized for having refused to believe the victims from the start.

Father Karadima was found guilty of sexually molesting minors by the Vatican. It barred him from all pastoral duties and sentenced him to a lifetime of “penance and prayer,” which means he can’t practice public ministry

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Juan Barros as bishop of the Southern Diocese of Osorno in 2015, which restored the wounds of the scandal. Many Chileans were furious about the Pope’s decision because Barros was Karadima’s teacher. Barros denied the allegations that he knew about Karadima’s actions asserting that “many lies have been made about me,” which further weakened the church’s integrity.

This year, Pope Francis defended Bishop Barros, claiming that there is “not a single proof against him.” He described the accusations against the bishop as “all calumny.” Before celebrating an open-air mass in a city in Iquique, he accused the victims of Chile’s well known pedophile priest of slander. This comment gained attention from shocked Chileans.

Juan Carlos Cruz is a Chilean who was abused by Karadima when he was a 17 year old seminarian. He is a sex abuse survivor who claims that bishop barros was “right there watching” while all of the victims were being abused. Cruz along with James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo, his fellow survivors continue to fight against Barros. They are fighting to bring justice and launched a civil lawsuit against the church. Seeking an apology and damages worth $600,000 US dollars, Cruz noted that “many have remained silent or taken their own lives” and that they can only “imagine how many people were abused”

Pope Francis apologized for his hurtful comments to the victims of sex abuse on January 22, proclaiming that “it was a slap in the face that I inflicted without meaning to.” Even so, he reaffirmed his support for Barros, saying that he is convinced the Barros is innocent.