The Vatican said Monday that
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Monsignor Juan
Barros Madrid, the bishop of Osorno who was at the centre of a
child sex abuse scandal in Chile.
Barros has been accused of covering for Chile's worst
predator priest, Father Fernando Karadima.
The pope irked victims by saying during a recent trip to
Chile that there was not a "shred of proof" against Barros.
He later apologised to victims, following criticism from
Cardinal Sean O'Malley, a Vatican pointman on clerical sex
abuse.
The pope said sorry for unwittingly "wounding" Karadima's
victims who say Barros, one of the charismatic Karadima's
proteges', shielded the abuser from justice.
All of Chiles bishops resigned en masse last month following
the scandal.
The Vatican said the pope had also accepted the resignation
of two other bishops in Chile - Msgr. Gonzalo Duarte García De
Cortázar, of the diocese of Valparaiso, and Msgr. Cristián Caro
Cordero, of the diocese of Puerto Montt - due to their age.
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