(ONLY VIDEO)
The bishops of Chile presented their conclusions at the 116th extraordinary plenary assembly, August 3. They present a list of guidelines to addres s the crisis that the Church is going through in the country on the management of sexual abuse cases.
Among the measures it announced that communication with civil justice will be strengthened and departments will be created to care for witnesses and victims. They will also publish on the Episcopal Conference website the names of clerics with final sentences for abuse of minors, both civil and canonical.
However, abuse victims have welcomed the announced measures with skepticism. The pope sent a handwritten letter to the bishops. In it he says that the conclusions are “realistic and concrete” and that he applauds the “communal and pastoral effort.”
The management of sexual abuse in Chile seems to have taken its toll on the popularity of the Church in the country. Local surveys such as Cadem indi cates that 83% of the population considers the Church not to be honest and 96% that it protects priests accused of abuse.
