VATICAN CITY and SANTIAGO (Reuters) - In an unprecedented move, all of Chile’s bishops offered to resign on Friday after attending a crisis meeting this week with Pope Francis about the cover-up of sexual abuse in the South American nation.

Pope Francis poses with Chilean bishops after a meeting at the Vatican, May 17, 2018. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS

Several victims invited by the pope to Rome earlier this month said they wanted all 34 bishops sacked and replaced by more moral candidates, and for the Vatican to extend punishment to others implicated in the scandal.

The offer of mass resignations on Friday by the bishops summoned to Rome marks the first time that all the senior Roman Catholic prelates of a country have taken such a step, a Vatican official said.

A Vatican official declined to speculate on the pope’s response.

“We have put our positions in the hands of the Holy Father and will leave it to him to decide freely for each of us,” the bishops said in a joint statement read out by a spokesman for them, Bishop Fernando Ramos.

The announcement followed four days of discussions in the Vatican, where the pope accused the bishops of “grave negligence” in investigating allegations that children had been abused and saying evidence of sex crimes had been destroyed.

Apologizing to the victims, the pope and to Chile for the failings of Chile’s churchmen, Ramos said the bishops would all stay in their roles until Francis had decided what to do.

The scandal that has swirled around the Chilean church for more than 20 years erupted four months ago when the pope visited Chile, prompting questions about his response to the serious claims of abuse.

Chilean victims of abuse welcomed news the bishops were ready to stand down but insisted the Vatican should take further, punitive action against the bishops.

Juan Carlos Cruz, one of three Chilean victims invited by the pope to Rome earlier this month, said the “corrupt” bishops should be replaced by those in the church who had helped abuse victims.

“There are very good people within the Chilean Church who could take over the reigns and repair the damage done by these corrupt bishops,” Cruz said in an interview.

Eneas Espinoza, a Chilean man who claims to have been abused while at a school run by the Marist brothers, called on the pope to pursue a canonical prosecution that could see them stripped of all titles and benefits.

“We want concrete, real action,” he said in an interview. “I don’t want my abuser to end up living in a plush retirement home.”

The scandal revolves around Father Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty in a 2011 Vatican investigation of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s. Now 87 and living in a nursing home in Chile, he has always denied any wrongdoing.

Victims accused Bishop Juan Barros of having witnessed the abuse but doing nothing to stop it. Barros, who was one of those who offered to stand down, has denied the allegations.

Friday’s resignations came just four months after the pope had visited Chile in a trip that raised questions over his response to abuse scandals that have rocked the church over the past 17 years and his willingness to deal with the crisis.

During the visit, Pope Francis staunchly defended Barros, denouncing accusations against him as “slander.”

But days after returning to Rome, the pope, citing new information, sent sexual abuse investigator Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to Chile to speak to victims, witnesses and other church members.

Slideshow (3 Images)

Some of his findings were included in a damning 10-page document that was presented to the bishops this week, according to Chile’s T13 television, which obtained a leaked copy. A source in the Vatican confirmed the report was genuine.

In it, the pope said he felt “shame” over the pressure put on people not to carry out full investigations into what had happened, saying some churchmen had been afraid to face their responsibilities and confront “the ramifications of evil.”

“We are all involved, myself in first place, and no one can be exempted by looking to shift the problem onto the backs of others,” the pope wrote.</s>VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis has accused Chile's bishops of destroying evidence of sex crimes, pressuring church lawyers to minimise accusations and of "grave negligence" in protecting children from paedophile priests.

In a devastating 10-page document delivered to Chilean bishops during a summit this week, Francis said the entire Chilean church hierarchy was collectively responsible for "grave defects" in handling abuse cases and the resulting loss of credibility that the Catholic Church has earned.

The document, reported by Chile's T13 television and confirmed as authentic today by the Vatican, puts mounting pressure on the bishops as a whole to resign given Francis told them that "no one can exempt himself and place the problem on the shoulders of the others.

" The bishops are due to hold a news conference in Rome later today.

Francis summoned the entire bishops' conference to Rome after admitting that he had made "grave errors in judgment" in the case of Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused by victims of Chile's most notorious predator priest, the Rev.

Fernando Karadima, of witnessing and ignoring their abuse.

But the scandal grew beyond the Barros case after Francis received a 2,300-page report written by two Vatican sex crimes experts sent to Chile to get a handle on the scope of the problem.

Their report hasn't been made public, but Francis cited its core findings in the footnotes to the document he handed over to the bishops Tuesday.

And those findings are damning.

Francis said the investigation showed there were "grave defects" in the way abuse cases were handled, with superficial investigations or no investigation at all of allegations that contained obvious evidence of crimes.

The result, he said, "created a scandal for those who denounced them and all those who know the alleged victims.

" In other cases, there was "grave negligence" in protecting children from pedophiles by bishops and religious superiors a reference to the many cases of sexual abuse that have arisen in recent years within Chilean religious orders, including the Salesians, Franciscans and the Marist Brothers community.

Some of these religious order priests and brothers were expelled from their congregations because of immoral conduct, but had their cases "minimized of the absolute gravity of their criminal acts, attributing to them mere weakness or moral lapses," Francis wrote.

But those same people "were then welcomed into other dioceses, in an obviously imprudent way, and given diocesan or parish jobs that gave them daily contact with minors," he said.

Such behaviour has been the hallmark of the clerical sex abuse crisis worldwide, with bishops and religious superiors shuttling abusers around from parish to parish or dioceses rather than reporting them to police or launching canonical investigations and removing them from ministry.

Francis said he was also "perplexed and ashamed" by the report's evidence that there were "pressures exercised" on church officials tasked with investigating sex crimes "including the destruction of compromising documents on the part of those in charge of ecclesiastic archives.

" He said such behaviour showed "an absolute lack of respect for the canonical process and worse, reprehensible practices that must be avoided in the future.

" He said the problem wasn't limited to a group of people, but can be traced to the training Chilean priests receive in seminary, blaming the "profound fracture" within the church on the seminaries themselves.

The Vatican investigation, he said, contained "grave accusations against some bishops and superiors who sent to these educational institutions priests suspected of active homosexuality."</s>The Latest on a sex abuse and cover-up scandal involving the Catholic Church in Chile (all times local):

All of Chile's bishops have offered to resign over a sex abuse and cover-up scandal, in what is one of the biggest shake-ups ever in the Catholic Church's long-running abuse saga.

At the end of an emergency summit with Pope Francis, 31 active bishops said they had signed a document offering to resign and that they were putting their fate in the hands of the pope.

The mass resignation marks the first time in history that an entire bishops conference had offered to step down en masse over a scandal.

It also lays bare the devastation that the case has caused to the Catholic Church in Chile and beyond.

Pope Francis has accused Chile's bishops of destroying evidence of sex crimes, pressuring church lawyers to minimize accusations and of "grave negligence" in protecting children from pedophile priests.

In a devastating 10-page document delivered to Chilean bishops during a summit this week, Francis said the entire Chilean church hierarchy was collectively responsible for "grave defects" in handling abuse cases and the resulting loss of credibility that the Catholic Church has earned.

The document, reported by Chile's T13 television and confirmed as authentic Friday by the Vatican, puts mounting pressure on the bishops as a whole to resign given Francis told them that "no one can exempt himself and place the problem on the shoulders of the others."

The bishops are due to hold a news conference in Rome later Friday.</s>All 34 of Chile's Catholic bishops have offered to resign after a crisis meeting with Pope Francis over the cover-up of a sexual abuse scandal.

It comes after several victims said they wanted all bishops sacked and replaced.

Now, the pope has to make a decision on whether to accept the resignations.</s>Pope Francis has accused Chile's bishops of destroying evidence of sex crimes, pressuring church lawyers to minimize accusations and of "grave negligence" in protecting children from pedophile priests.

In a devastating 10-page document delivered to Chilean bishops during a summit this week, Francis said the entire Chilean church hierarchy was collectively responsible for "grave defects" in handling abuse cases and the resulting loss of credibility that the Catholic Church has earned.

The document, reported by Chile's T13 television and confirmed as authentic Friday by the Vatican, puts mounting pressure on the bishops as a whole to resign given Francis told them that "no one can exempt himself and place the problem on the shoulders of the others."

The bishops are due to hold a news conference in Rome later Friday.</s>VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis has accused Chile's bishops of destroying evidence of sex crimes, pressuring church lawyers to minimize accusations and of "grave negligence" in protecting children from pedophile priests.

In a devastating 10-page document delivered to Chilean bishops during a summit this week, Francis said the entire Chilean church hierarchy was collectively responsible for "grave defects" in handling abuse cases and the resulting loss of credibility that the Catholic Church has earned.

The document, reported by Chile's T13 television and confirmed as authentic Friday by the Vatican, puts mounting pressure on the bishops as a whole to resign given Francis told them that "no one can exempt himself and place the problem on the shoulders of the others."

Pope Francis reads his message during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Pope Francis warned Wednesday that the latest spasm of violence in the Holy Land is only hurting chances for peace, and called for revived efforts at dialogue and justice. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The bishops are due to hold a news conference in Rome later Friday.</s>In an unprecedented move, 34 Chilean bishops said on Friday they had offered to resign en masse after attending a crisis meeting this week with Pope Francis about the cover-up of sexual abuse in their country.

It was not immediately clear if the pope would accept all or any of the resignations from the prelates, who hold all the top jobs in Chile's Roman Catholic Church.

'We have put our positions in the hands of the Holy Father and will leave it to him to decide freely for each of us,' the bishops said in a joint statement read out by a spokesman for the churchmen, Bishop Fernando Ramos.

He said the bishops would stay in their roles until the pope had made his decision.

The scandal has devastated the credibility of the Church in the once staunchly Catholic country. It has also hurt the pope's own image because this year he strongly defended a bishop accused in the alleged cover-up before reversing his position.

The Vatican declined to comment on the timing of any decision or on the resignations themselves. A Church official said it was the first time the bishops of an entire country had offered to leave their posts in such a manner.

In their statement, the bishops thanked the pope for his 'brotherly correction'.

'Above all, we want to ask forgiveness for the pain caused to the victims, to the pope, to the people of God and our country for the serious errors and omissions committed by us,' the contrite statement said.

This week's meeting followed a Vatican investigation into Bishop Juan Barros, who was appointed by the pope in 2015 despite allegations that he had covered up sexual abuse of minors by his mentor, Father Fernando Karadima.

Now 87 and living in a nursing home in Chile, Karadima has always denied the allegations. Barros has said he was unaware of any wrongdoing.

However, a Vatican source confirmed on Friday a report by Chile's T13 television that the pope had handed the bishops a document accusing them of destroying evidence of sex crimes and of failing to protect children from predator priests.

The document said the church hierarchy was collectively to blame for serious lapses in handling the abuse cases.

Friday's sombre statement came just four months after the pope had visited Chile in a trip that raised questions over his response to abuse scandals that have repeatedly rocked the Church over the past 17 years.

During the visit, Pope Francis had staunchly defended Barros, denouncing accusations against him as 'slander' until proven otherwise.

But days after returning to Rome, the pope, citing new information, sent sexual abuse investigator Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to Chile to speak to victims, witnesses and other Church members.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Vatican quoted the pope as saying the four days of meetings this week had been 'frank' and had covered 'painful events regarding abuses – of minors, of power and of conscience'.

The Vatican said the bishops had agreed to short, medium and long-term changes in order to restore justice and Church unity, but did not elaborate. The meeting ended with 'the firm intention to repair the damage done', the pope said.</s>All of Chile's bishops have offered to resign over a sex abuse and cover-up scandal, in what is one of the biggest shake-ups in the Catholic Church's long-running abuse saga.

At the end of an emergency summit with Pope Francis, 31 active bishops said they had signed a document offering to resign and that they were putting their fate in the hands of the Pope.

Members of Chile's bishops conference Luis Fernando Ramos Perez, right, and Juan Ignacio Gonzalez, meet journalists at the Vatican. AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

It is the first time an entire bishops conference has offered to step down en masse over a scandal, and lays bare the devastation the case has caused to the Catholic Church in Chile and beyond.

Francis had earlier accused Chile's bishops of destroying evidence of sex crimes, pressuring church lawyers to minimise accusations and of "grave negligence" in protecting children from paedophile priests.

In a devastating 10-page document delivered to the bishops during a summit this week, Francis said the entire Chilean church hierarchy was collectively responsible for "grave defects" in handling abuse cases and the resulting loss of credibility for the Catholic Church.</s>Santiago: In an unprecedented move in the modern history of the Catholic church every bishop in Chile has offered his resignation to Pope Francis, in a case involving sex abuse scandal, media reported.

Thirty one active bishops and three retired bishops on Friday announced their resignation after a three-day emergency summit at the Vatican to discuss Chile's sex abuse scandal.

The simultaneous resignation of all the bishops in a single country is thought to be unprecedented, CNN reported.

The resignations came as the bishops said they placed the issue "in the hands of the Holy Father so that he might freely decide for each one of us".

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said he had no comment on whether Pope Francis would accept the mass resignation.

In response to the resignation of the country's bishops on Friday, Marie Collins, a former member of the Pope's Commission for the Protection of Minors, said that the gesture was not enough.

"No bishop removed — all allowed to resign. Really nothing changes," Collins wrote on Twitter.

Pope Francis called the country's bishops to Rome after he received a 2,300-page report detailing sexual abuses by priests in Chile.

At the centre of the scandal is the Bishop of Osorno, Juan Barros, whom Francis appointed in 2015 amid an outcry that Barros had known about and covered up abuses.

The Pope stridently defended Bishop Barros, calling accusations against him "calumny".

In an about-face in April, after receiving the Vatican investigator's report, the Pope said he had made "grave errors in judgment", and apologised to Chile's sex abuse victims.

In May, the Pope met privately at the Vatican with three of Barros' main accusers and asked their forgiveness.</s>VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has accused Chile's bishops of destroying evidence of sex crimes, pressuring church lawyers to minimize accusations and of "grave negligence" in protecting children from pedophile priests.

In a devastating 10-page document delivered to Chilean bishops during a summit this week, Francis said the entire Chilean church hierarchy was collectively responsible for "grave defects" in handling abuse cases and the resulting loss of credibility that the Catholic Church has suffered.

The document, reported by Chile's T13 television and confirmed as authentic Friday by the Vatican, puts mounting pressure on the bishops as a whole to resign given Francis told them that "no one can exempt himself and place the problem on the shoulders of the others."

The bishops are due to hold a news conference in Rome later Friday.

Francis summoned the entire bishops' conference to Rome after admitting that he had made "grave errors in judgment" in the case of Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused by victims of Chilean priest, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, of witnessing and ignoring their abuse.

But the scandal grew beyond the Barros case after Francis received a 2,300-page report written by two Vatican sex crimes experts sent to Chile to get a handle on the scope of the problem. Their report hasn't been made public, but Francis cited its core findings in the footnotes to the document he handed over to the bishops this week.

And those findings are damning.

Francis said the investigation showed there were "grave defects" in the way abuse cases were handled, with superficial investigations or no investigation at all of allegations that contained obvious evidence of crimes. The result, he said, "created a scandal for those who denounced them and all those who know the alleged victims."

In other cases, there was "grave negligence" in protecting children from pedophiles by bishops and religious superiors — a reference to the many cases of sexual abuse that have arisen in recent years within Chilean religious orders, including the Salesians, Franciscans and the Marist Brothers community.

Some of these religious order priests and brothers were expelled from their congregations because of immoral conduct, but had their cases "minimized of the absolute gravity of their criminal acts, attributing to them mere weakness or moral lapses," Francis wrote.

But those same people "were then welcomed into other dioceses, in an obviously imprudent way, and given diocesan or parish jobs that gave them daily contact with minors," he said.

Such behavior has been the hallmark of the clerical sex abuse crisis worldwide, with bishops and religious superiors shuttling abusers around from parish to parish or dioceses rather than reporting them to police or launching canonical investigations and removing them from ministry.

Francis said he was also "perplexed and ashamed" by the report's evidence that there were "pressures exercised" on church officials tasked with investigating sex crimes "including the destruction of compromising documents on the part of those in charge of ecclesiastic archives."

He said such behavior showed "an absolute lack of respect for the canonical process and worse, reprehensible practices that must be avoided in the future."

He said the problem wasn't limited to a group of people, but can be traced to the training Chilean priests receive in seminary, blaming the "profound fracture" within the church on the seminaries themselves. The Vatican investigation, he said, contained "grave accusations against some bishops and superiors who sent to these educational institutions priests suspected of active homosexuality."

For years, sex abuse victims have blasted the Chilean hierarchy for discrediting their claims, protecting abusers, moving them around rather than reporting them to police and then handing out light sentences when church sanctions were imposed.

Based on Francis' footnotes, the Vatican investigation compiled by the Catholic Church's top abuse prosecutor, Archbishop Charles Scicluna and his aide, Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, gave full credibility to the victims.

Francis though has also been implicated in the scandal, and in his document saying all Chilean bishops bore blame, he added "and me first of all."

Francis first drew scorn from victims, ordinary Chileans and even members of his sex abuse advisory board by appointing Barros bishop of Osorno, Chile, in 2015.

The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Francis did so over the objections of other Chilean bishops who knew Barros' past was problematic and had recommended he and other Karadima-trained bishops resign and take a sabbatical.

The AP subsequently reported that Francis had received a letter in 2015 from one of Karadima's most vocal accusers, Juan Carlos Cruz, detailing Barros' misdeeds. That letter undercut Francis' claim to have never heard from victims about Barros.

Francis further enraged Chileans and drew sharp rebuke from his top abuse adviser when, during a January trip to Chile, he said the accusations against Barros were "calumny" and said he was "certain" he was innocent.

After receiving the Scicluna-Bertomeu report, though, Francis did an about-face. Blaming a "lack of truthful and balanced information" about the case for his missteps, Francis invited the three main whistleblowers to the Vatican hotel he calls home so he could apologize in person.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
All 34 Roman Catholic bishops in Chile offer to resign after Pope Francis accused them of destroying evidence of sexual crimes.