VATICAN CITY
Crux
Inés San Martín
VATICAN CORRESPONDENT
Apr 21, 2018
ROME – As the date for their upcoming meeting with Pope Francis approaches, several of the 32 Chilean bishops who will be in Rome to meet the pontiff May 14-17 are speaking up, some ready to resign, and others ready to demand the resignation of a bishop accused of covering up clerical sexual abuse.
Bishop Juan Barros, accused by three victims of a Chilean pedophile priest of having covered up for his mentor, Father Fernando Karadima, should “without a doubt,” take “a step to the side,” according to Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago.
“I’m not a judge” to say if Barros in fact covered up or not, Ezzati said during a press conference on Thursday, but “the good of the people of God asks for his availability,” just as he himself “should be available to it” if the people of God were to ask the cardinal for his resignation.
Ezzati is 76 years old, so he technically presented his resignation to Francis last year, as is mandatory for bishops to do when they turn 75. However, it’s up to the pope to decide if he accepts the resignation, and so far, no announcement has been made.
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