ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PERU --
Pope Francis has again firmly defended his appointment of a Chilean
bishop accused of covering up clergy sexual abuse, renewing a claim that
accounts against the prelate are "calumny," a claim that survivor
advocates say has brought the Catholic Church back to the bleakest point
of the abuse crisis.
While the pontiff did apologize for causing survivors pain with an earlier defense of Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, he also repeatedly insisted during a 50-minute press conference aboard the papal flight to Rome overnight Jan. 21 that there was no evidence against the prelate, despite survivors' accounts to the contrary.
Asked by three separate journalists why he appeared ready to believe Barros but not the abuse survivors, the pope repeated iterations of the phrase "there is no evidence." And although Francis said he would accept any new evidence brought forward with an "open heart," he also stated: "I am convinced he is innocent."
While the pontiff did apologize for causing survivors pain with an earlier defense of Bishop Juan Barros Madrid, he also repeatedly insisted during a 50-minute press conference aboard the papal flight to Rome overnight Jan. 21 that there was no evidence against the prelate, despite survivors' accounts to the contrary.
Asked by three separate journalists why he appeared ready to believe Barros but not the abuse survivors, the pope repeated iterations of the phrase "there is no evidence." And although Francis said he would accept any new evidence brought forward with an "open heart," he also stated: "I am convinced he is innocent."
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