CHILE
Santiago Times
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Written by Emily Green
Victims request compensation from the Church for personal hardships.
Victims sexually abused in the 1980s by infamous Santiago priest Fernando Karadima are requesting monetary compensation from the Catholic Church on the grounds that the Archbishopric of Santiago failed to properly investigate allegations against Karadima in 2004.
On Tuesday, the three plaintiffs, James Hamilton, José Andrés Murillo and Juan Carlos Cruz, initiated a civil suit against the Archbishopric of Santiago, now led by Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati, for the personal distress caused by the Church.
“It’s come to this because (the Church) has given us no other options,” Hamilton told local press. “There has not been any kind of spiritual accompaniment or reparations.”
Karadima was found guilty by the Vatican but was never convicted by the state following a long history of accusations and investigations against the high-profile priest who led a parish in Santiago’s El Bosque borough from 1973 to 1990. While rumors and accusations against Karadima for sexual abuse circulated as early as 1984, no investigations happened for years.
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