Osorno, Chile, Jun 12, 2018 / 15:02 pm
The archbishop tasked with investigating the Chilean clerical abuse crisis said the main objective of his visit to the diocese of Osorno is not only to express Pope Francis' closeness to the local Church, but to help provide the legal structures needed to handle abuse accusations.
"In respect to our pastoral mission, we wish in first place to be a sign of the closeness of the pope to the people and Church of Chile," Archbishop Charles Scicluna said in a June 12 statement read aloud to the press in Santiago.
Another goal of the visit, he said, is "to provide concrete technical and legal assistance to the diocesan curias of Chile, so that they can give adequate responses to each case of sexual abuse of minors committed by priests or religious."
The archbishop stressed Francis' particular closeness to the Diocese of Osorno, saying the visit will be carried out in a spirit "of service and of communion, in a context of prayer, of liturgical celebration and of mutual listening and cordiality."