CHILE/ROME
The Guardian

Jonathan Franklin in Santiago and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Tuesday 17 March 2015

Pope Francis’s vow to stamp out sexual abuse by priests – and the Catholic church’s decades-long cover-up of such scandals – is being tested following the appointment of a bishop in Chile who has been linked to a notorious abuse case.

Politicians and some church leaders in Chile have demanded the resignation of Juan Barros, the pope’s appointment as bishop of Osorno in southern Chile, following allegations that he helped cover up – and at times participated in – abuse against minors by his longtime mentor, a priest called Fernando Karadima.

The case has consequences far beyond Chile, given Pope Francis’s repeated promises to confront the abuse scandals. Victims’ rights activists are calling for the pontiff’s intervention in the case following an outcry by parishioners in the region.

So far, however, Barros…