It is the first time that a Vatican official has been condemned for such a crime.

The W.C.C. general secretary described Francis’ visit as “a strong signal of recognition by the Catholic world.”

Archbishop Charles Scicluna said his mission to the country was a sign of Pope Francis’ closeness to the local church.

A 15th-century copy of a letter Christopher Columbus sent to his royal patrons describing the riches of the New World has been returned to its rightful owner -- the Vatican.

The archbishop said his team's pastoral mission includes providing "concrete technical and legal assistance to the dioceses in Chile so they may give adequate responses to each case of sexual abuse of minors committed by clergy or religious."

The multinational initiative, End Clergy Abuse, was announced Thursday at a press conference in Geneva. One after another, more than a dozen members held up their national flags and denounced an individual bishop who had mishandled a case, from the Americas to Africa and Europe in between.