“Papal sex abuse commission members meet over Chilean bishop” & related articles

(Reuters) – Members of a commission advising Pope Francis on how to rid the Catholic Church of sexual abuse have met a top Vatican official to express their misgivings over the appointment of a bishop in Chile accused of covering up abuse.

Marie Collins, a victim of abuse from Ireland, told Reuters the meeting four members had with Cardinal Sean O’Malley on Sunday night “went well and the cardinal promised to take our concerns to the Holy Father”.

Last month, the Vatican defended the appointment of Juan Barros as bishop of the Chilean city of Osorno, which had outraged some parishioners, national legislators and abuse victims who said Barros had protected one of the nation’s most notorious paedophiles.

The four lay commission members who flew to Rome to meet O’Malley said in a statement it was of “paramount importance” that the Vatican appoint bishops who understand child protection.

“In the light of the fact that sexual abuse is so common, the ability of a bishop to enact effective policies, and to carefully monitor compliance is essential,” it said.

Critics in Chile say Barros was aware of and helped cover up abuse by Father Fernando Karadima, 84, a mentor to a number of younger priests including Barros.

Karadima has denied accusations of abuse and Barros denies having any knowledge that abuse took place.

But in 2011 a Vatican investigation found Karadima guilty of abusing teenage boys over many years and ordered him to retire to “a life of prayer and penitence”. A separate criminal case against Karadima collapsed because of the statute of limitations.

Juan Barros was installed on March 21 as supporters holding white balloons and opponents carrying black ones shouted at each other during the ceremony in Osorno cathedral.

In response to the protests, the Vatican last month said its Congregation for Bishops had “carefully examined the prelate’s candidature and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment”.

Critics say it will be impossible for Barros to do his job given the divisions the appointment has caused and say he should be removed or step down.

The other three members of the commission who met O’Malley were Peter Saunders, a victim of abuse, and Baroness Sheila Hollins, both of Britain, and Catherine Bonnet of France. Hollins and Bonnet are experts on child protection. O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, is head of the 17-member commission.

(Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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Abuse victims upset about Chilean bishop will meet with Cardinal O’Malley

Crux

10 April 2015

By Inés San Martín

Vatican correspondent April 10, 2015

Irish abuse victim Marie Collins, a clergy abuse survivor nominated by Pope Francis to sit on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, looked at Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley during their first briefing at the Holy See press office at the Vatican last May. (Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters/CNS)

ROME — Two survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy who now sit on a Vatican anti-abuse commission are traveling to Rome this weekend to meet with Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley to protest Pope Francis’ recent appointment of a Chilean bishop linked to a notorious sex abuser.

A commission member speaking on background because he’s not authorized to discuss the matter confirmed to Crux that the meeting between O’Malley and the two victims who sit on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors — Marie Collins of Ireland and Peter Saunders of the United Kingdom — will happen on Sunday.

Collins and Saunders will be joined by two other members of the Vatican panel.

Saunders spoke on Friday about the upcoming meeting in an interview with the National Catholic Reporter.

“I’m hoping Francis will be there as well, because we’re going to meet [O’Malley] in the Domus Santa Marta about this Chilean bishop situation, which is really quite disturbing,” Saunders said.

The Chilean bishop is Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid, previously in charge of Chile’s military diocese, who was appointed in mid-January as the new bishop of the small Osorno diocese and installed March 21 amid violent protests.

Barros is one of four bishops mentored by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a long-time point of reference for Catholic clergy in the country. In 2011, the Vatican sentenced Karadima to a life of “penitence and prayer” after finding him guilty of pedophilia and abuse of his ecclesiastical position.

The victims of Karadima have accused Barros and three other bishops of covering up for Karadima while he sexually abused devoted followers during the 1980s and 1990s. None of those bishops was ever charged with a crime, either by the Vatican or Chilean law enforcement agencies.

Saunders, founder of the UK-based National Association for People Abused in Childhood, told NCR that Barros “should not be in charge of a diocese where he will be responsible for young people. It’s an outrage.”

Through Twitter, Collins also has been outspoken against the appointment of Barros to the diocese of Osorno, calling it “a disappointment.”

The commission is currently working in small groups, each providing different perspectives to issues related to the prevention and protection of minors and vulnerable adults.