Bishop-elect in Chile resigns after controversial statements on sex abuse crisis

ROME (ITALY)
Crux

June 14, 2019

By Ines San Martin

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of an auxiliary bishop-elect in Santiago, Chile, after he made controversial comments on the sexual abuse crisis, women in the Church, and the Jewish community.

“The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Father Carlos Eugenio Irarrázaval Errázuriz as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Santiago,” said a statement released by the local church.

“The decision was fruit of a dialogue and joint discernment, in which Pope Francis has valued the spirit of faith and humility of the priest, in favor of unity and the good of the pilgrimage church in Chile,” it continued.

Santiago has been hard-hit by the clerical sexual abuse scandal, with its two former archbishops being subpoenaed by local prosecutors to give testimony after being accused of covering up cases of abuse.

Irarrázaval got into trouble just one day after his appointment in late May, when he said there’s no benefit in continuing to stir the pot – using the local colloquialism “stirring reheated rice is worthless” – when it comes to the abuse scandals in Chile.

This caused uproar among survivors of clerical sexual abuse.

But he didn’t stop there: The following day, in an interview with CNN Chile, he said that “since there was no woman seated at the table in the Last Supper” they had no role in the Church. According to Irarrázaval, this was a choice Jesus made, and not “for ideological reasons.”

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