Chilean bishops beg forgiveness over sex abuse scandal

Concluding their five day extraordinary assembly, Chile’s 32 Catholic bishops apologized for “failing in their duties” in managing sex abuse cases.

“We have failed in our duties as pastors,” Chile’s 32 bishops admitted in a statement issued on Friday following their five day extraordinary plenary assembly at Punta de Tralca in central Chile.

“We did not listen, believe, receive or accompany the victims of the grave sins and injustices committed by priests and members of the church,” the bishops wrote in their “mea culpa.”

“We therefore beg forgiveness from the victims and survivors,” they said, insisting on their desire to “repent sincerely” and emphasizing their responsibility as church leaders.

“Our errors and omissions have caused pain and perplexity,” they said. “They have damaged ecclesial communion, prevented conversion and undermined hope.”

Scandal lasting several months

The bishops called the Extraordinary Assembly to “reflect in depth” on the reasons for the scandal that has sundered the Chilean Church in recent months in the wake of Pope Francis’ visit in January this year.

On May 18 the bishops presented their resignations to the pope, who had criticized their collective failure in the fight against sexual abuse. Pope Francis has already accepted the resignation of five of the bishops.

The bishops, who had promised to personally meet the victims and to implement a critical review “to ensure that such events are never repeated,” also announced a series of concrete steps.

These included developing closer cooperation between the church and the justice system, and in particular sharing the findings of church investigations into allegations of sex abuse involving children.

Other measures involved greater participation of lay people, particularly women, in the decision-making bodies of the Chilean Church.

A lawyer, Ana Maria Celis Brunet, was appointed as head of the National Council for the Prevention of Abuse and Accompaniment of Victims, a post that was previously held by a bishop.

Investigations

At the end of July, Chilean prosecutors published a series of statistics on the abuse issue, specifying that there had been 266 victims as well 158 bishops, priests and lay people who were under investigation or had been investigated or tried for sexual abuse of children or adults since 1960.

The bishops’ conference also announced that 14 church leaders have been suspended recently, making a total of 43 religious and one deacon who have now been suspended as a result of 18 civil and 25 canonical legal action.

However, details of the length of the suspensions were not provided.