As churches burn in Chile, Pope expresses 'pain and shame' over sex abuse

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As churches burn in Chile, Pope expresses 'pain and shame' over sex abuse

By Philip Pullella and Dave Sherwood
Updated

Santiago: Pope Francis has publicly expressed "pain and shame" over the rape and molestation of children by priests in Chile and later listened, prayed and cried at a private meeting with sexual abuse victims.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said the meeting took place in the Vatican embassy in Santiago.

"No one else was present. Only the pope and the victims," the spokesman said. "This was so they could speak of their suffering to Pope Francis, who listened to them and prayed and cried with them."

It was only the second time on his overseas trips that the pope has met victims of sexual abuse, although he has met some at the Vatican. The last meeting on a trip was in Philadelphia in 2015.

Three churches including Santa Juana Catholic chapel, pictured, have been firebombed on the first full day of Pope Francis' visit.

Three churches including Santa Juana Catholic chapel, pictured, have been firebombed on the first full day of Pope Francis' visit.Credit: Alejandro Hidd

Burke declined to give details, but his statement came at the end of an intense day for the pope, during which he spoke of sexual abuse twice, once asking forgiveness for abuses he said had done "irreparable damage" to victims.

The Argentine pontiff made his first remarks at the presidential palace, La Moneda, an unusual choice because the pope usually talks about sexual abuse to Church leaders and not politicians.

But the scandal has gripped the nation, prompting many politicians to criticise the Church in the staunchly Catholic country, where the crisis has scarred its credibility.

"Here I feel bound to express my pain and shame at the irreparable damage caused to children by some ministers of the Church," he said, drawing sustained applause, including from Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and diplomats.

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Pope Francis meets with Bishops at the Sacristy of the Cathedral of Santiago, Chile.

Pope Francis meets with Bishops at the Sacristy of the Cathedral of Santiago, Chile.Credit: LUCA ZENNARO

"I am one with my brother bishops, for it is right to ask for forgiveness and make every effort to support the victims, even as we commit ourselves to ensuring that such things do not happen again," he said.

Francis, on a trip that will also take in Peru, spoke after at least eight Catholic churches were attacked and burnt in Chile in the past week.

Chileans wait for the arrival of Pope Francis to the shrine of St. Alberto Hurtado in Santiago.

Chileans wait for the arrival of Pope Francis to the shrine of St. Alberto Hurtado in Santiago.Credit: ALESSANDRA TARANTINO

Police in riot gear dispersed some 200 demonstrators trying to make their way to a park in Chilean capital Santiago, where the pope - the first Latin American head of the Church - said Mass for some 400,000 people.

Catholics have been upset with Francis' appointment in 2015 of Bishop Juan Barros to head the small diocese of Osorno in south-central Chile.

Chilean riot police take away a poster with an image of Pope Francis saying "Burn, Daddy" after several people were arrested during a protest in Santiago.

Chilean riot police take away a poster with an image of Pope Francis saying "Burn, Daddy" after several people were arrested during a protest in Santiago.Credit: VICTOR R. CAIVANO

Barros, who attended Tuesday's Mass, has been accused of protecting his former mentor, Father Fernando Karadima who found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 of abusing teenage boys over many years. Karadima has denied the allegations and Barros said he was unaware of any wrongdoing.

"There have been many lies told about my situation," Barros said after the Mass.

From a balcony in Santiago, protesters gesture and display a banner saying: "Francis, accomplice of paedophile crimes".

From a balcony in Santiago, protesters gesture and display a banner saying: "Francis, accomplice of paedophile crimes".Credit: VICTOR R. CAIVANO

But, along with growing secularisation, the scandal has hurt the standing of a Church that defended human rights during the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

A poll by Santiago-based think-tank Latinobarometro this month showed the number of Chileans calling themselves Catholic fell to 45 per cent last year, from 74 per cent in 1995.

Some of the faithful cover their mouths after Mass as tear gas remains in the air after a protest against Pope Francis in Santiago, Chile.

Some of the faithful cover their mouths after Mass as tear gas remains in the air after a protest against Pope Francis in Santiago, Chile.Credit: VICTOR R. CAIVANO

Francis returned to the theme of abuse on Tuesday evening in an address to priests and nuns in Santiago's cathedral. He spoke of "this great and painful evil" which had led victims and their families to "see the trust they had placed in the Church's ministers betrayed."

But he said he also understood the pain of priests and nuns who had nothing to do with abuse and had been unfairly tainted, including being "insulted in the metro or walking on the street."

People search through the charred remains of the Santa Juana Catholic chapel after it was firebombed.

People search through the charred remains of the Santa Juana Catholic chapel after it was firebombed.Credit: Dragomir Yankovic/Aton Chile

Anti-Pope graffiti

Hours after the pope arrived in Chile on Monday, two small wooden churches were burnt to the ground near Temuco, where Francis is due to visit on Wednesday.

The indigenous Mapuche in the area accuse the state and private companies of taking their ancestral lands. The Mapuche say the pope's ceremony will be held on seized land.

A church in the capital was attacked during the night, causing minor damage. Vandals burnt Chilean and Vatican flags at the site and tossed pamphlets with threats against the pope.

At one attack which involved a homemade bomb, a pamphlet was left that read: "Pope Francis, the next bomb will be in your robe."

Graffiti scrawled on one Santiago church read: "Burn the pope."

About 10 blocks from Tuesday's Mass, riot police clashed with people protesting against the sexual abuse scandal and the $US17 million ($21 million) cost of the papal visit. "Complicit Paedophiles," read one of the banners.

But the welcome most Chileans have given Francis has been warm, with tens of thousands lining the streets.

At his speech in La Moneda, which Pinochet's forces bombed in September 1973 while democratically-elected president Salvador Allende was inside, Francis said the country had "faced moments of turmoil, at times painful." He praised Chile's consolidation of democracy but said more had to be done to help the unemployed and indigenous.

In the afternoon, Francis made an emotional visit to the San Joaquin prison for women.

The women, many of whose children live in the prison with them, cheered when the pope told them that their dignity could never be taken away from them.

"Society has an obligation to reintegrate each one of you," said the pope, who was clearly moved by stories the women told him of prison life.

Reuters

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