Pope Francis' treatment of sexual abuse breaks a Catholic fortress

The criminal investigation in Chile has shaken the national chapter of the Marists, a Catholic religious order that runs 12 schools. Victims blame church leaders in some of the boys' prey schools for decades.

"There was a system of impunity that allowed this to happen," said Emiliano Arias, a prosecutor who led a raid on church offices in four cities in September. "I'm sure there are more cases."

Gonzalo Dezerega, a 53-year-old businessman in Santiago, said he had grueling memories of sexual violence committed at the age of 10 in a Marist-run school. After each incident, Mr. Dezerega stated that his attacker would kneel and pray, calling the child sinful but assuring him that he was forgiven by God. The boy was told that sins should remain secret.

"I remember crying, asking the Lord," Why me, why did it happen, my God? ", Said Mr Dezerega, who recently told his family.

Eneas Espinoza said he was mistreated in the 1970s at the Alonso Institute of Ercilla, a school run by the Marists of downtown Santiago. Prosecutor Raúl Guzmán identified 26 suspects and 40 victims in cases dating from 1968 to 2016.

Mr. Espinoza, 45, recalled his school as hell. A Marist Brother from Spain would take him out of class and rape him sexually, said Mr Espinoza. Then the brother would ask the 6 year old boy to brush his teeth.

In adulthood, Espinoza said combining brushing with abuse and avoiding it, eventually losing most of his teeth.

In September, a canonical investigation conducted by the Vatican concluded that accusations of abuse in Marist schools were credible. The congregation said that two of its members had confessed. A prominent member of the clergy, who denied the allegations of ill-treatment, was among those defrocked by Pope Francis.

A representative of the Chilean branch of the Marist Order said that schools now have a policy of preventing abuse and are "absolutely safe" for children.

Polls show that scandals have a role to play in the fall of the Chileans of the Catholic Church. In August, 46% of respondents identified as Catholic, according to pollster Cadem, compared to 63% in 2017; in the 1990s, about three quarters of the Chilean population identified themselves as Catholics. The survey also revealed that 96% of Chileans believe that clergy are covered or protected by clergy, accused of sexual abuse.

"The Church knows better than anyone that she was wrong," President Sebastian Piñera said at a mass last month to mark Chile's independence day.

In the beginning

In 2013, when Pope Benedict XVI became the first pontiff to resign in nearly six centuries, the Cardinals of the world gathered in Rome to choose a successor who could cope with the changes after several scandals of corruption and mismanagement. Addressing the crisis of sexual abuse by religious personnel was also considered urgent, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world.

From the moment the new Pope entered the St. Peter's loggia on the evening of March 13th, attention was paid to Pope Francis, the first pope of Latin America – a leader in the style disarming informal that has mitigated the teachings on sexuality. and the medical ethics identified with its predecessor to focus on poverty, migration and the environment.

The new pope spoke little about the crisis of sexual abuse during his first year. He expressed his impatience with critics on the subject, telling an interviewer in early 2014: "The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution to have acted with transparency and accountability. No one else has done more. And yet, the church is the only one to be attacked.

Some people say that the pope has a blind spot on sexual abuse committed by office staff since he was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in his country of Argentina.

"In my diocese, this never happened," said Cardinal Bergoglio in an interview published in 2010 and referring to cases of clerical pedophilia. In another book, he suggested to his archdiocese to successfully filter out priesthood candidates who might abuse children.

When the victims of abuse became public in Argentina, he refused to meet them. In 2006, as head of the conference of Argentine bishops, he denounced what he called a media campaign against Reverend Julio Grassi, founder of a reputed orphanage, accused of mistreating children under his responsibility. Father Grassi was finally sentenced to 15 years in prison, a verdict upheld last year by the highest court in Argentina.

In March 2014, the Pope set up a Child Protection Advisory Committee at the request of Cardinal O & Malley of Boston. The panel included two abusive personalities turned into defenders, which gave hope for a greater influence of the laity. The panel proposed a special tribunal to try bishops accused of concealing or neglecting abuses committed by priests.

The pope accepted the recommendation and the Vatican announced its decision in 2015.

The court has not been set up. Instead, the pope amended the law of the Church the following year to make it clear that the negligence of the bishops in cases of abuse constituted a ground for dismissal.

The Pope's change of heart was a disappointment for Marie Collins, a well-known victim of sexual abuse in the office that served on the advisory committee. She resigned last year to complain about the Vatican's inaction. Peter Saunders, the other panel member who had been a victim of violence, joined him.

The pope told reporters that he had spoken to Mrs. Collins and had heard her concerns. Ms. Collins stated that they had not had such a conversation.

"It has done nothing really to reassure people that the church has a hold on this problem," Ms. Collins said. "He made these statements about zero tolerance and then did not use it."

Juan Carlos Cruz, a Chilean victim of sexual abuse, remains optimistic. In meetings held this spring at the pope's home, Mr. Cruz said that the pontiff was sincere in his willingness to face the crisis.

Mr. Dezerega, the Chilean businessman who was abused as a child, said he was eagerly awaiting the changes under Pope Francis. "We want a new and clean church," he said, "without criminals".