Cleaning Out The Catholic Hierarchy In Chile Following Sex Abuse Allegations

in #chile5 years ago (edited)


The Catholic church in Chile has recently been accused of engaging in a high-level cover up of sexual abuse by members of the organization. Numerous catholic bishops have been subpoenaed on suspicions of having committed the abuse of a minor, or covering it up, or both.

At least 27 percent of the bishops in Chile have been accused and subpoenaed.

And a court in the country has recently ordered that the church compensate some of those sexual abuse victims and pay at least $150,000 to each victim.

An earlier lower court ruling which had determined there was no proof of a cover-up by the church has also been overturned.


There is now a pressing need to purge the organization of wrongdoers in light of the scandal. But finding a replacement isn't always easy. Those in the community are not only angry about the victimization taking place, but even more so about the actions taken to cover-up the wrongdoing.

The Chilean court recently affirmed that all institutions, including the catholic church, have a duty to protect the rights of citizens and that they aren't permitted to cover-up any sexual abuses with impunity. It's alleged that the church had harmed the victims by refusing to investigate claims diligently, and instead had dismissed them.

Some protesters have called for all bishops to resign amid the scandal. And Pope Francis has reportedly acknowledged a culture of abuse that exists and has been taking place in Chile, according to Vatican investigators. That was after he had allegedly suggested that some of the accusations were nothing more than slander, to which he later apologized.

Investigators have been looking into dozens of cases, allegedly more than 100 potential victims might have suffered.

There have already been several resignations from bishops in the region, a number of which have been accepted, but they're still facing what many see as a deep crisis where they must face the corruption and wrongdoing that's taken place, and seek true justice for the victims.

Pics:
pixabay

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