Pope’s Defence of Bishop Accused of Covering Up Child Abuse Sparks Outrage

A number of Chilean Catholics expressed disappointment and anger on Friday after Pope Francis’ remarks, which were made before he left the country for Peru.

Victims of the Rev. Fernando Karadima, Chile’s most notorious priest, have accused Bishop Juan Barros Madrid of bring complicit in Karadima’s abuse of children. Father Karadima was convicted by the Vatican in 2011 of abusing teenage boys beginning in the 1980s, and he was ordered to lead a “life of prayer and penitence.” That year, a judge found the allegations “truthful and reliable” but dismissed a criminal case because the statute of limitations had expired. Bishop Barros, a former military chaplain, was part of Father Karadima’s inner circle and, according to one of the victims, witnessed the priest’s advances on him.

Despite the allegations against Father Barros, Francis appointed him bishop of Osorno, in southern Chile, in 2015. Dozens of priests and legislators said they opposed the move.

On Thursday, Francis told reporters Thursday there was not a shred of evidence against Bishop Juan Barros Madrid. “The day someone brings me proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk,” Francis said before celebrating Mass. “But there is not one single piece of evidence. It is all slander. Is that clear?”

The pope’s comments have raised questions about his commitment to repairing the damage inflicted by the Church’s sexual abuse scandals, and his determination to ensure no abuse is allowed to continue.

Benito Baranda, coordinator of the pope’s visit to Chile, told a radio station in Santiago that Bishop Barros “should have ceased to be bishop a long time ago.” He added: “The damage he is inflicting on the church is big.”

Mr. Baranda, a psychologist, said that the church “never believed Karadima’s victims from the start” and that the pope’s support for the bishop “reignites the feeling of not being believed, or that they are exaggerating or being deceitful. It’s like when children say they suffer abuse but no one believes them because they are children.”

A Chilean government’s spokeswoman, Paula Narváez, said on her Twitter account: “Respecting, believing and supporting victims of sexual abuse is an ethical imperative. No institutional defense can override this basic principle for a fair society, one that is empathetic with those who most need it.”

James Hamilton, a victim of Karadima, also expressed his disappointment during a press conference on Thursday. “What the pope has done today is offensive and painful, and not only against us, but against everyone seeking to end the abuses.”

The archbishop of Santiago, Francisco Javier Errázuriz, has said that the controversy over Bishop Barros was an “invention.”