Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

The appointment of a controversial bishop in Chile was made after a careful review found no "objective reasons" to prevent Bishop Juan Barros from taking over the Diocese of Osorno, the Vatican press office said.

The bishop had been accused of covering up for a priest who was known to have committed sexual abuse; some 3,000 demonstrators gathered outside and inside the Osorno cathedral March 21 to protest his installation as bishop.

"The Congregation for Bishops carefully examined the prelate's candidature and did not find objective reasons to preclude the appointment," said the Vatican's March 31 statement.

The protesters claimed Bishop Barros was complicit in the case of Father Fernando Karadima, who the Vatican in 2011 found guilty of sexually abusing minors and ordered to "retire to a life of prayer and penitence."

Bishop Barros denied having any knowledge of Father Karadima's crimes.

Still, several lay members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors criticized his appointment to Osorno and expressed their concern.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
John Barbieri
9 years 7 months ago
On the part of the Vatican, naming this bishop to head the Diocese of Osorno seems just like "business as usual." Why did this bishop accept an appointment to a diocese whose people and clergy appear not to want him? This looks like it will not end well for all involved.

The latest from america

I use a motorized wheelchair and communication device because of my disability, cerebral palsy. Parishes were not prepared to accommodate my needs nor were they always willing to recognize my abilities.
Margaret Anne Mary MooreNovember 22, 2024
Nicole Scherzinger as ‘Norma Desmond’ and Hannah Yun Chamberlain as ‘Young Norma’ in “Sunset Blvd” on Broadway at the St. James Theatre (photo: Marc Brenner).
Age and its relationship to stardom is the animating subject of “Sunset Blvd,” “Tammy Faye” and “Death Becomes Her.”
Rob Weinert-KendtNovember 22, 2024
What separates “Bonhoeffer” from the myriad instructive Holocaust biographies and melodramas is its timing.
John AndersonNovember 22, 2024
“Wicked” arrives on a whirlwind of eager (and anxious) anticipation among fans of the musical.
John DoughertyNovember 22, 2024