Pope Francis has accepted the first three resignations from the 34 Chilean bishops who met in Rome.
On May 18, all of the bishops presented their letters of resignation in Pope Francis' hands.
MSGR. JUAN IGNACIO GONZÁLEZ ERRÁZURIZ
Bishop of San Bernardo
“We want to announce that all the bishops who came to Rome have placed our positions in the hands of the Holy Father through a written letter, so he can freely decide the fate of each one of us.”
Among the three is Juan Barros, bishop of Osorno, who is directly accused by victims of covering up abuse by another priest, Fr. Fernando Karadima.
The other two are Msgr. Gonzalo Duarte García de Cortázar, 76, from the diocese of Valparaiso and Cristian Caro Cordero, 76, from the archdiocese of Puerto Montt.
Pope Francis has designated an apostolic administrator for each one of the three dioceses.
The pope said resignations are not sufficient to resolve the crisis, because it is not only about addressing specific cases, but rather about going even further.
It's likely that in the next few days, Pope Francis will continue to make decisions revolving around this case.
