It is not yet clear whether Pope Francis will accept resignations of 34 bishopsChile’s bishops have offered to resign en masse over a sexual abuse and cover-up scandal that has embroiled Pope Francis and has been highly damaging to the Catholic church. Thirty-one serving bishops and three retired bishops signed a letter of resignation on Friday. The bishops’ move came after Francis said the Chilean church hierarchy was collectively responsible for “grave defects” in handling sexual abuse cases and the resulting loss of credibility suffered by the church. The Chilean church has been rocked by the allegations of abuse by Karadima and others, and by claims that senior figures knew about or even witnessed what was going on. The Vatican later sent two expert on sexual crimes to investigate claims of widespread abuse and cover-up in Chile.

Source: The Guardian May 18, 2018 11:47 UTC