VATICAN CITY
Buenos Aires Herald
VATICAN CITY — A man who says he was sexually abused by a priest on multiple occasions delivered two letters yesterday addressed to Pope Francis from Chilean Catholics, asking the pontiff to remove a Chilean bishop accused of protecting a notorious paedophile.
Juan Carlos Cruz delivered the letters with Peter Saunders, a prominent and outspoken British member of a papal advisory commission on sexual abuse by the clergy. Saunders on Saturday refused to step down from his position despite a no-confidence vote, and said only the pope could dismiss him, raising tensions.
The letters were left for Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, the president of the commission, at a Rome guest house where the commission was meeting. O’Malley was asked to give them to the pope.
The letters involve Juan Barros, who was installed last year as bishop of Osorno. The appointment outraged many parishioners, legislators and abuse victims who said Barros had protected a priest accused of having been one of the nation’s most notorious sexual predators.
The priest in question has denied he abused Cruz and the bishop has denied knowledge of wrongdoing.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.