Source: ex Magno silentio

How does it feel to be a Faithful Catholic in the Diocese of Osorno, Chile where in five days the new bishop will take over?  Normally a cause for celebration and well wishes, the appointment of this new bishop, “Father” Juan Barros, by Pope Francis has resulted in 1,300 of the diocesan faithful and thirty priests to petition the pope to rescind the appointment.  The problem is that the bishop to be is a homosexual and enjoyed watching his homosexual priest colleague commit pederasty, and then covered it up when complaints were made.  Moreover, this isn’t old news from decades ago, but became known within the last five years.  Despite the evidence that this bishop is a menace to young men, a pervert, and a scandalous disgrace, Pope Francis has foisted this “man” on the diocese as their leader.  Even though the people there have been expressing their disgust and outrage since the appointment was announced in January, Pope Francis has not heeded the calls from them to correct this affront.  Based upon his micromanagement of the hurt feelings of adulterers and transsexuals over the past year, it is difficult to believe that Pope Francis isn’t aware of the situation.  Perhaps, telephone connections are not so good between Rome and Osorno?

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Juan Carlos Cruz recalls that he and another teen boy would lie down on the priest’s bed, one resting his head at the man’s shoulder, another sitting near his feet. The priest would kiss the boys and grope them, he said, all while the Rev. Juan Barros watched.

“Barros was there, and he saw it all,” Cruz, now a 51-year-old journalist, told The Associated Press.

Barros has been tapped by Pope Francis to become bishop of a southern Chilean diocese this month, provoking an unprecedented outcry by abuse victims and Catholic faithful who contend he covered up sexual abuse committed by his mentor and superior, the Rev. Fernando Karadima, in the 1980s and ’90s. A Vatican investigation found Karadima guilty in 2011 and sentenced the now 84-year-old priest to a cloistered life of “penitence and prayer” for what is Chile’s highest-profile case of abuse by a priest.

Barros has declined to comment publicly on allegations against him. Now bishop for Chile’s armed forces, he has said he learned of Karadima’s abuse through a 2010 news report he saw on television, according to court records.

While not directly accused of abuse, Barros is said by at least three victims to have witnessed the sexual molestation at the Sacred Heart of Jesus church, part of the El Bosque parish that serves an affluent neighborhood of Santiago.

That history has parishioners, clergy and lawmakers in this predominantly Catholic country protesting the pope’s decision to appoint Barros, 58, to become spiritual leader over the diocese in Osorno, about 580 miles (930 kilometers) south of Santiago.

More than 1,300 church members in Osorno, along with some 30 priests from the diocese and 51 of Chile’s 120 members of Parliament, sent letters to Francis in February urging him to rescind the appointment, which was announced in January and is set to take effect on March 21.

This is the best the pope could do to provide a spiritual leader?  What spirit exactly is at work here?  How does this help the Church and the needs of the Faithful to have this exemplar of everything wrong with the priesthood forced on them as their bishop?

I saw Karadima and Juan Barros kissing and touching each other. The groping generally came from Karadima touching Barros’ genitals,” Cruz said in a January letter to Monsignor Ivo Scapolo, the papal nuncio in Chile. Cruz provided a copy of the letter to the AP.

Despite Francis’ pledge to have no tolerance for abuse by priests, James Hamilton, another victim of Karadima’s, said the appointment demonstrates to him that the church “had not changed.”

Hamilton, now a 49-year-old doctor, said Barros enjoyed watching Karadima commit the abuse.

“I saw how Barros watched it all,” he said.

Just last week, Pope Francis discussed with Mexican television the problem of Catholics leaving the Church in droves and he diagnosed “clericalism” and “bad homilies” as the culprits.  Homosexual priests and bishops and the scandalous “pederastoral” conduct of these perverts never came to mind.  No, these evil men are good for the Church.

What response from the Vatican has there been?  Complete silence from Lombardi and “on Saturday, Chile’s papal nuncio published a letter urging parishioners in Osorno to welcome Barros and ‘prepare, by way of prayer and good works, for the beginning of his pastoral governance.’”  The same one who knew the sordid perverse details.

How’s that for hearing the cries of the sheep?

We’ve seen enough about the damages that are inflicted by perverts as bishops.  If Pope Francis doe not change this, the people there should keep their young men away from this bishop and his seminaries, and withhold their money from the collection baskets.  It’s only a matter of time before the payouts will be made and the diocese bankrupted.