Pope faces protests by sex abuse board against bishop’s appointment

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Pope faces protests by sex abuse board against bishop’s appointment

Associated Press in Vatican City
Thursday 26 March 2015 18.48 GMT

Several members of Pope Francis’s sex abuse advisory board have expressed concern and incredulity over his decision to appoint a Chilean bishop to a diocese despite allegations that he covered up for the South American nation’s most notorious paedophile.

In interviews and emails with Associated Press, the experts have questioned the pope’s pledge to hold bishops accountable and keep children safe, given the record of Bishop Juan Barros in the case of the Rev Fernando Karadima.

The five commission members spoke to AP in their personal and professional capacities and stressed that they were not speaking on behalf of the commission, which Francis formed in late 2013 and named Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, to head.

“I am very worried,” said Dr Catherine Bonnet, a commission member, French child psychiatrist and author on child sex abuse. “Although the commission members cannot intervene with individual cases, I would like to meet with Cardinal O’Malley and other members of the commission to discuss a way to pass over our concerns to Pope Francis.”

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/pope-faces-protests-by-sex-abuse-board-against-bishops-appointment

[beam me up scottie]

1. "Three of Karadima’s victims told AP this month that Barros witnessed the abuse decades ago"

Barros was installed as bishop of the southern Chilean diocese of Osorno last weekend amid unprecedented opposition, and scuffles inside the cathedral by protesters who say he is unfit to lead. The demonstrators point to his close association with Karadima, a charismatic and popular priest who was sanctioned by the Vatican in 2011 for sexually abusing minors.

Three of Karadima’s victims told AP this month that Barros witnessed the abuse decades ago at the Sacred Heart of Jesus church in Santiago, the Chilean capital, and that he did nothing. They accused Barros of destroying a letter detailing allegations against Karadima that was sent to the then bishop in 1982.

Barros had long refused to comment publicly on the allegations, but on the eve of his installation insisted he did not know about any abuse until he read about the allegations in 2010 news reports.

Barros’s appointment in January sparked unprecedented opposition, in a country that is slowly coming to grips with the church sex abuse crisis that has afflicted the US, Europe and Australia in particular. More than 1,300 church members in Osorno, along with 30 priests from the diocese and 51 of Chile’s 120 members of parliament, sent letters to Francis in February urging him to rescind the appointment.

Why?

[LiberalAndProud]

2. I am reminded of the fact that Greg Burke is the pope's senior communications advisor.

[center]Your lips move but I cannot hear what you say.[/center]

[edhopper]

3. Well

so much for the "hopey, changey thingie"

[trotsky]

4. But... but... he SAID "zero tolerance"!!

Don't pay attention to his ACTIONS, just listen to his awesome WORDS!

[cbayer]

6. What hopey, changey thingie? That's the meme used against Obama, isn't it?

[edhopper]

9. Yes

I re-purposed a Palinism.

[cbayer]

12. There seems to be all kinds of wrong with that…...

[AtheistCrusader]

14. Ugh.

[edhopper]

15. It seemed to fit

what can I say.

[cbayer]

16. Lol, I love it when you are both clever and humble.

[edhopper]

17. If I admit being clever

I wouldn't be humble.

[AtheistCrusader]

13. Yes, if Obama was a white 5'5" brunette female and failed .5 term governor from Alaska.

It's something Palin said against Obama, and has been widely mocked to this day for saying it.

[cbayer]

5. Appointing him is a mistake and I hope the protestors are successful.

[LiberalAndProud]

7. It may be wrong, but I don't think it was a mistake.

Wholly intentional.

[cbayer]

8. Agree that whoever actually made the appointment made it intentionally, but

I am referring to it being a mistake in general.

Five member of the vatican appointed committee and many members of the diocese agree with me.

I hope they get the ear of the vatican.

[LiberalAndProud]

10. The committee is a good thing if they have any power.

From this appointment, it is possible to surmise that the committee is window dressing; that for the Church it will be business as usual.

[cbayer]

11. It is possible to surmise that but also possible to surmise that they might have

some sway here.

We shall see.

[skepticscott]

18. "We shall see" seems to be your standard mantra

Last edited Fri Mar 27, 2015, 10:58 PM - Edit history (1)

for excuses and apologetics for those, like the pope, who protect and reward child rapists. Most of us already DO see that the pope's vow of "zero tolerance" was a blatant lie, designed to keep people like you praising and defending him.

[Heddi]

19. I need to see the official translation

before I can condemn this. I'm Certain...nay, MORE THAN CERTAIN that this is a mistranslation on the part of the Anti-Pope Anti-Theist God Hating Press who do ANYTHING THEY CAN to hate on Frank.

Or. Wait. Perhaps I think that it doesn't matter, the Pope has no real authority on these things.

Oh. Maybe what i meant to say was that he only did this because let's not forget John Paul I. Frank is just a small cog in a big wheel and he know that there are shady players out there that would take him out if he did the things he TRULY wanted to do, but can't.

Oooh! I almost forgot. He's taking small steps. He's only been in place for a short amount of time. The Catholic church is very large and very old and these things don't happen overnight. Baby steps.

Did I cover them all?

[LiberalAndProud]

20. The Pope didn't know.

The advisory committee is trying to find a way to pass on their concerns to the Pope.

(Wait. I'm laughing. An advisory board with no advisory access.)

...

The Pope just didn't know. Wait and see.