CHILE
Reuters
August 9, 2018
By Aislinn Laing
A Chilean prosecutor said on Thursday that the office of the bishop to the armed services had been raided as part of investigations into accusations that senior Roman Catholic Church officials covered up claims of sexual abuse by clergymen in Chile.
Emiliano Arias, a provincial prosecutor leading the investigations, told Reuters that the raid on the office of Santiago Silva had been conducted by court order and authorized by the defense minister and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Silva is also president of the Chilean bishops’ conference.
Arias said that a prosecutor accompanied by military officials had seized documents related to complaints made over 20 years to Silva and his predecessor, former bishop Juan Barros, about sexual abuse by clerics operating inside or outside the armed forces.
Silva’s office did not respond to requests for comment and the Chilean bishops’ conference said Silva was out of the country and his office would not be commenting at this time.
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.