(ANSA) - Santiago, January 18 - Pope Francis said on a trip
to Chile Thursday that he had yet to see any evidence against
Osorno Bishop Juan Barros who abuse victims accuse of shielding
the charismatic cleric who trained him, South American country's
most notorious predator priest Fernando Karadima.
But the pope's words were rejected by Karadima's victims and
the lay people in Barros's diocese who are trying to have him
removed.
"When I see some proof against Bishop Barros then we'll see,
perhaps. So far I haven't seen any at all," Francis told
journalists.
Shortly before the pope addressed the case for the first
time, Barros told the press that Francis had been "very
affectionate" with him and had offered "words of support".
A group of faithful from Osorno, a southern city, have been
demanding Barros's removal for three years.
In February 2011, after several years of a Catholic canonical
investigation, the Vatican found Karadima guilty of sexually
abusing minors and psychological abuse in Chile.
It sent him to a "life of prayer and penitence" and to
"lifelong prohibition from the public exercise of any
ministerial act, particularly confession and the spiritual
guidance of any category of persons."
But the Chilean Church has yet to fully recover from the
scandal.
Many of the local faithful are still furious over a 2015
decision by Pope Francis to appoint Barros, who had been one of
Karadima's proteges.
Barros has always denied he knew that Karadima was Chile's
worst clerical sexual predator.
But many Chileans have shown they are skeptical of Barros's
claims.
On Thursday Karadima's victims and the lay people from the
bishop's diocese harshly criticised the pope's words in defence
of Barros.
Victim Juan Carlos Cruz tweeted: "it's not as if I could have
taken a selfie or photo while Karadima was abusing me with
Barros standing beside him, seeing it all!"
He added "These people are mad" and said "it all goes on in
the same way, the demand for forgiveness remains an empty
gesture".
Juan Carlos Claret, the spokesman for the Osorno lay
community, said "the real scandal in Francis's words lies in the
fact that he is giving the lie to the victims and not to the man
who abused them".
He stressed that Cruz was not the only victim who said Barros
knew about Karadima.
photo: Bishop Barros
No evidence agst Barros in Karadima case - pope (3)
We'll see if I see proof says pontiff in Chile