Pope Francis Okays Resignation Of Two Chilean Bishops After Sex Scandals

Abidjan, Sept. 21 (AIP) - Pope Francis on Friday accepted the resignation of two new bishops from Chile, a country that is currently investigating many cases of clergy sexual abuse, the Vatican said in a statement.

The Chilean Catholic Church has been in turmoil since the visit of the Argentine Pope in January and the increasing number of judicial investigations of suspected sexual assaults committed by members of the Church on minors and adults since the 1960s.

The two are Monsignor Carlos Eduardo Pellegrin Barrera, 60, who practiced in San Bartolome de Chillan, and Bishop Cristian Enrique Contreras Molina, of the Diocese of San Felipe, according to a statement from the Holy See.

The Pope had accepted the resignation of five other Chilean Bishops, before these two.