Pope wants bishops to take responsibility for abuse scandal — Pope Francis called the bishops of Chile to the Vatican to “examine the causes and consequences” of the clerical sexual abuse scandal and acknowledge personal responsibility and “the mechanisms that in some cases led to a cover up and serious omissions regarding the victims,” the Vatican said. In a statement May 12, the Vatican press office said 31 Chilean diocesan and auxiliary bishops, along with two retired bishops, will meet with Pope Francis on May 15-17 in one of the small meeting rooms behind the Vatican audience hall. The objective of the meeting is “to discern together, in the presence of God, the responsibility of all and each one in these devastating injuries, as well as to study appropriate and lasting changes that would prevent the repetition of these always reprehensible acts,” the statement said. Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, will join the Pope and the Chileans, the Vatican said. The goal is “to re-establish trust in the church through good shepherds who witness with their lives that they have heard the voice of the Good Shepherd and know how to accompany the suffering of the victims and work in a determined and untiring way in the prevention of abuse,” the statement said. The Chilean bishops had said they would be at the Vatican on May 14-17 to discuss with the Pope their handling of clerical sex abuse allegations and, as Pope Francis had said, “to repair the scandal as much as possible and re-establish justice.” Media reports in Chile indicated that Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, retired archbishop of Santiago and a member of Pope Francis’ international Council of Cardinals, would not attend the meeting. A statement published by the Chilean bishops’ conference on May 10 said, “We reiterate our unity with Pope Francis in the pain and shame he expressed about the crimes committed against minors and adults in church settings.”

On Sept. 12, the Holy See announced that the Pope had decided to call the summit, which will have an unprecedented format, “to discuss the prevention of abuse of minors and vulnerable adults.”