SANTIAGO, Chile — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the auxiliary bishop of Santiago just 24 days after the pontiff appointed him to the post, and weeks after the bishop made controversial comments about the lack of women at the Last Supper.
The pope appointed the bishop, Carlos Eugenio Irarrázabal, in an effort to rebuild the Roman Catholic Church’s credibility after a pervasive sexual abuse scandal that exposed hundreds of allegations now being investigated by Chilean criminal prosecutors.
More than 30 Chilean bishops offered their resignations in 2018 after a report ordered by Francis revealed a culture of abuse and cover-ups in Chile’s church. The 2,300-page document accused church leaders of failing to investigate credible allegations — even destroying documents to conceal them — and transferring priests accused of abuses to other parishes.
The Archdiocese of Santiago did not specify the reasons for Bishop Irarrázabal’s departure, but said on Friday that the pope had accepted his resignation “in favor of unity and for the good of the church.” The bishop could not be reached for comment.
His short tenure began with a television interview last month, in which he noted that there were no women seated at the table at the Last Supper and that “we have to respect that.”
“Jesus Christ made decisions, and they were not ideological,” he said, “and we want to be faithful to Jesus Christ.” He also said that perhaps women “like to be in the back room.”
According to the Bible, the Last Supper was Jesus’ last meal with his disciples before his crucifixion.
The bishops’ comments angered women’s groups and critics of the church in Chile at a time when confidence in church leadership in the once staunchly Catholic nation has plummeted.
In a statement issued by the archdiocese later on Friday, Bishop Irarrázabal said he wanted to “reiterate my apologies to those have been affected by my comments.”
Francis this year accepted the resignation of Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati as archbishop of Santiago, the highest-ranking member of the Catholic Church in Chile, after he was caught up in the sexual abuse scandal. The pope later admitted to “grave errors” in the handling of sexual abuse cases in Chile.
Similar scandals in countries including Australia, Chile, France, Ireland, Poland and the United States have harmed the church’s credibility and clouded the Francis’ legacy. Last month, the pope issued a law obligating church officials to report such cases, his first concrete response to address the crisis.
Bishop Irarrázabal will remain in charge of a parish in Santiago, where in 2011 he replaced the Rev. Fernando Karadima, who was at the center of public outrage about clerical sexual abuse. Francis defrocked Father Karadima in September.
Source : Nytimes
