Pope receives victims of Chilean paedophile priest

Yahoo – AFP, April 30, 2018

Two of the three Chilean sexual abuse victims, James Hamilton (L) and his wife and
Juan Carlos Cruz (R), gesture from the terrace of the Apostolic Palace in the
Vatican (AFP Photo/Andreas SOLARO)

Vatican City (AFP) - Three victims of a Chilean paedophile priest have held private meetings with Pope Francis, as the Vatican tries to quell a sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church in Chile.

The men, all victims of the paedophile priest Fernando Karadima, were in Vatican City at the personal invitation of the pope, who in April admitted "grave mistakes" in his handling of the abuse controversy in Chile.

Juan Carlos Cruz said his meeting with Francis on Sunday, which lasted more than two hours, was wide-ranging and gave him "more hope for our Church, even though the task is enormous".

"I am moved, he listened to me with great respect, affection and closeness, like a father," Cruz said on Twitter.

The Vatican had said last week that Francis would seek to "ask for their forgiveness, share their hurt and the shame they have suffered".

Jose Andres Murillo said he told Francis in his audience late Friday how important it was to understand that sexual abuse was "abuse of power", and "the need to take responsibility... not just forgiveness".

The pope has faced flak in Chile over the handling of an alleged cover-up by Bishop Juan Barros of abuse by Karadima during the 1980s and 1990s.

In January, the pontiff had strongly defended Barros, who appeared at public masses celebrated by the pope in three different Chilean cities, causing a public outcry.

However, he later apologised to the victims and dispatched Archbishop Charles Scicluna, a renowned Vatican investigator, to Chile to collect evidence.

Local Catholic groups in Barros's diocese have since demanded that Francis remove the bishop for his ties to Karadima, who the Vatican in 2011 found guilty of abusing children in the 1980s and 1990s and ordered to retire to a life of penitence.

The third victim James Hamilton said his meeting with Francis was "sincere, warm and very constructive"

They are expected to hold a joint press conference on Wednesday.

Sexual abuse scandals deepen Chile mistrust in Catholic church

Yahoo – AFP, Ana FERNANDEZ, April 28, 2018

Although 70 percent of Chileans describe themselves as Catholic, only a third say
 they have confidence in the church, a survey showed this week (AFP Photo/
CLAUDIO REYES)

Santiago (AFP) - Despite a strong Catholic tradition, Chile is witnessing a growing rift between the people and the church, sharpened by a string of sexual abuse scandals that until recently had been ignored by the pope.

The extent of the rift became clear in January when Pope Francis visited Chile and sparked outrage by hugging Juan Barros, a controversial bishop who has been accused of covering up abuses by another priest in the 1980s and '90s.

Questioned by journalists, Francis responded abruptly, saying there was "not a single piece of proof" against Barros in remarks that caused widespread anger among those who had been abused by the other priest, Fernando Karadima.

But the pontiff apologized and quickly moved to dispatch the Vatican's top abuse investigator to collect evidence, later acknowledging he had made "grave mistakes" in his handling of the scandal.

And he also pledged to meet with the victims, inviting three of them to the Vatican to discuss the extent of abuse within the church in Chile.

All three were abused in the 1980s by Karadima, who at the time was an influential priest who trained seminarians in an affluent area of the capital, Santiago.

It was only in 2011 that he was convicted of abusing children by the Vatican, which ordered him to retire to a "life of prayer and penitence" and barred him from any public ministry.

But the victims were unable to pursue a criminal case against him in Chile because the statute of limitations had expired.

Disgraced pedophile priest Fernando Karadima, seen here in 2015, was convicted 

by the Vatican of sexually abusing children in the 1980s and 90s but has never 

been prosecuted criminally (AFP Photo/Vladimir RODAS)

80 church leaders accused

Next month, the pope will also meet with Chilean bishops to discuss the findings of the probe by his investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna.

Beyond Karadima, nearly 80 Catholic clergymen have been accused of sexually abusing children in Chile, according to BishopAccountability, an American NGO that tracks such cases.

And a recent poll showed that seven out of 10 Chileans disapprove of the way in which the Catholic church has handled the scandal.

Aware of what could be coming down the line, Santiago's archbishop, Ricardo Ezzati, recently suggested to Barros that he resign "for the good of the people of God."

The visibility of the Karadima case and the testimony of the three victims who have spoken out on behalf of the abused -- Jose Andres Murillo, James Hamilton and Juan Carlos Cruz -- has dealt a major blow to a church seen as elitist and distant from the concerns of a modern society.

Although most Chileans still identify as Catholic, a growing number feel that

the church simply doesn't represent them (AFP Photo/Vincenzo PINTO)

A growing disaffection

But Chile's disaffection with the church began back in the 1990s with the return of democracy to the country, says Luis Bahamondes, an expert on religion at the University of Chile.

Despite the fact that part of the Catholic church sided with those persecuted by the country's military dictatorship, when democracy returned, it went "from having a more social role to one that was driven by traditional values," distancing itself from many worshipers.

In a country where some 70 percent of the population describe themselves as Catholic, only a third say they have confidence in the institution, a Mori survey revealed this week.

Chileans had to wait until 2004 before they were able to get divorced, and it was only in 2017 that women were legally allowed to have an abortion in cases of rape, or threat to the mother's life or deadly birth defects.

On visiting Chile in January, Pope Francis said people needed to see church leaders
 who were compassionate, who knew how to help people in need (AFP Photo/
MATIAS RECART)

Same-sex couples still cannot marry nor can anyone who is transgender change their identity on a passport, although this year's Oscar's triumph of "A Fantastic Woman," a Chilean film about a transgender woman, which won best foreign film, has gone a long way to changing that.

'Increasingly remote from the people'

But Bahamondes denies talk of a "rift," pointing out that most of the population still identify as Catholic, saying it is more a sense that they simple don't feel that the church represents them, which is particularly true among the youth.

President Sebastian Pinera, himself a practicing Catholic, on Thursday said he was saddened by the fact that the church "is increasingly remote, not only from worshippers but from people in general," which is not only happening in Chile but across Latin America.

During his visit in January, Pope Francis himself acknowledge that people prefer leaders "who know how to be compassionate, how to lend a hand, to stop and help those who have fallen," while criticizing the "elitist" attitude of certain clergy.

More than 20 dead in Nicaragua protests: rights group

Yahoo – AFP, April 22, 2018

Violent protests against a proposed change to Nicaragua's pension system
 have left at least 20 people dead, a rights group says (AFP Photo/INTI OCON)

Managua (AFP) - More than 20 people have been killed in a clashes between Nicaraguan police and demonstrators in a wave of protests over pension reform, a local human rights body said Sunday.

The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights said it was still trying to verify figures, but that at least 20 people had been killed since protests erupted in the central American country on Wednesday over plans by President Daniel Ortega to reform the nation's pension system.

"We are dealing with more than 20 dead, but we are verifying because there is a lot of misinformation, the situation is really serious and beyond our possibilities to confirm," the Center's director Vilma Nunez told AFP.

On Friday, the government put the number of people killed in two days of protests in the capital Managua and other cities at 10, the last official figure.

The streets of Managua were rubble-strewn early Saturday after a night of clashes between police and demonstrators.

Nicabus, an international bus line with links to Costa Rica and Honduras, said it has been forced to suspend services due to the violence.

Protest groups on Sunday announced a march to the Polytechnic University in the capital where hundreds of students have been holed up since Thursday.

In a bid to calm the protests -- the biggest of his 11-year presidency -- Ortega agreed Saturday to speak with the private sector about social security reforms, only to be rebuffed by Nicaragua's top private-sector business union.

They said there could be no dialogue unless the government "immediately ceases police repression."

On Saturday local media reported that journalist Miguel Angel Gahona was shot dead by a suspected sniper in the city of Bluefields, on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast.

Journalists have reportedly faced attacks, been temporarily detained and had their work equipment stolen since the start of the protests. Meanwhile, four independent television outlets were taken off air on Thursday, although only one currently remains closed.

'Illegal to be who I am' - Daley urges change in same-sex laws

Yahoo – AFP, Robert SMITH, April 13, 2018

Britain's Tom Daley has voiced his concerns about the treatment of homosexuals
 in large parts of the Commonwealth, whose athletes are gathered on Australia's
Gold Coast for the ongoing Games (AFP Photo/Anthony WALLACE)

Gold Coast (Australia) (AFP) - English world champion diver Tom Daley on Friday urged Commonwealth nations who outlaw homosexuality to relax their anti-gay stance.

Openly gay Daley, who is expecting a child with his partner through a surrogate, grasped the opportunity of his gold medal triumph in the 10m synchro event to push for change.

Daley, who won gold with team-mate Daniel Goodfellow, said sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex are criminalised in 37 Commonwealth countries.

Daley voiced his concerns about the treatment of homosexuals in large parts of the Commonwealth, whose athletes are gathered on Australia's Gold Coast for the ongoing Games.

"Hopefully, I know this might sound a bit political, but by the next Commonwealth Games (in Birmingham 2022), there are 37 countries in the Commonwealth where it's currently illegal to be who I am, so hopefully we can reduce that number between now and then," Daley told reporters.

"Coming to the Gold Coast and being able to live as an openly gay man is really important and to be able to feel comfortable in who you are when you are standing on that diving board.

"For 37 countries that are here participating that's very much not the case."

Daley said it was time for those Commonwealth countries to change their anti-gay laws.

"You just have to face those things and try and make change," he said.

"There are lots of things that are going to take a long time to change, but I feel with the Commonwealth I think we can really help push some of the other nations to relax their laws on anti-gay sex."

Commonwealth Games Federation CEO David Grevemberg said his organisation was proud of its record on inclusivity.

"At the time of Glasgow 2014, 43 Commonwealth countries criminalised same sex activity, but today, that number has been reduced to 37," Grevemberg said Friday.

"We hope that the Commonwealth sports movement is playing a meaningful role in the wider global conversation around tolerance, empowerment and legal recognition for all."

Daley's comments were backed by New Zealand boxer Alexis Pritchard, who wore rainbow socks in support of gay rights in her 57kg semi-final on Friday.

"I think it's particularly sad that people cannot love who they want to love," she told AFP.

"It's important that each and every individual has rights to receive love and give love to the people that they choose.

"I find it absolutely sad that we are not open to that in so many nations."

The penalties for private, consensual sexual conduct between same-sex adults remain harsh in a number of Commonwealth countries, including imprisonment, hard labour and in some cases flogging.

The Commonwealth countries that outlaw homosexuality include Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tonga.

Pope Francis admits 'grave mistakes' in Chile sex abuse scandal

Yahoo – AFP,  12 April 2018 

Pope Francis admits 'grave mistakes' in Chile sex abuse scandal

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis admitted Wednesday he had made "grave mistakes" in his handling of a sexual abuse scandal in Chile as he looks to quell the latest controversy to rock the Roman Catholic Church.

In a letter to 32 Chilean bishops released by the Vatican, Francis said he intended to summon them to Rome to discuss an investigation into an alleged cover-up by Bishop Juan Barros of abuse by paedophile priest Fernando Karadima during the 1980s and 1990s.

Francis expressed his "shame" and "pain" for the suffering of the victims and pledged to meet them.

"I have made grave mistakes in the assessment and my perception of the situation, especially due to a lack of truthful and balanced information," Francis wrote.

He made no specific mention of Barros, who was appointed Bishop of Osorno in Chile, despite being accused of concealing and even witnessing abuse carried out by Karadima.

A 2,300-page report sent to the pope includes testimony gathered from 64 people in New York and Santiago.

The pope asked the bishops to Rome to discuss the findings of the probe by Archbishop Charles Scicluna and requested their "collaboration and assistance" in finding measures that can "repair the scandal as much as possible and restore justice".

"The present difficulties are also an opportunity to restore confidence in the Church, a confidence broken by our mistakes and sins," Francis wrote.

'Everything is slander'

During a trip to Chile in January, the pontiff had strongly defended Barros, who appeared at public masses celebrated by the Pope in three different Chilean cities, causing a public outcry.

Francis said that he was convinced of Barros' innocence and demanded "proof" of abuse before he would speak out against him.

"There is not a single piece of proof against him. Everything is slander. Is this clear?" Francis said.

However, he later apologised to the victims and dispatched Scicluna, a renowned Vatican investigator, to Chile to collect evidence. Scicluna returned at the end of February.

Karadima, an influential Chilean priest, was convicted by the Vatican in 2011 of abusing teenage boys and sentenced to a life of penitence. Civil charges against him in the Chilean courts were dismissed because of a lack of evidence.

The president of the Episcopal Conference of Chile, Bishop Santiago Silva, said that the church "had not done enough" in the case.

"Our commitment is that this does not happen again," he added.

Silva said the meeting of Chilean bishops with the pope in Rome would take place on the third week of May.

Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta, was until 2012 a prosecutor in the Vatican Court to investigate cases of paedophilia among priests, making a name for himself with his determination.

He allowed the opening of an investigation into Father Marcial Maciel, Mexican founder of the congregation of the Legionaries of Christ and the perpetrator of numerous cases of paedophilia.

Since taking over in March 2013, Francis has championed the cause of the marginalised and launched a reform agenda.

But sex abuse scandals have haunted his papacy and the Vatican announced it was reviving its anti-paedophile panel in February.

The pope has often spoken out about sexual abuse, and has vowed zero tolerance towards what he has described as a "great humiliation" for the Catholic Church.

But many victims remain bitter over alleged coverups and Church inaction over the years.

Pope Francis admits he made 'grave mistakes' in his handling of sexual abuse scandal in Chile https://t.co/m5yz1XzBXv @AFPgraphics pic.twitter.com/h5q7MRcKyo

— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 12, 2018

VIDEO: Pope Francis admits he made 'grave mistakes' in his handling of a sexual abuse scandal in Chile, as he looks to quell the latest controversy to rock the Catholic Church pic.twitter.com/m0hWFDsgiJ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 12, 2018

Brazil's Lula ignores arrest deadline

Yahoo – AFP, Carola SOLE with Sebastian SMITH in Rio de Janeiro, April 6, 2018

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greets supporters at the
metalworkers' union building in Sao Bernardo do Campo, hours before a
deadline he eventually missed to surrender and begin serving a 12-year
prison sentence or face arrest (AFP Photo/Miguel SCHINCARIOL)

São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) (AFP) - Ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the controversial frontrunner in Brazil's October presidential election, ignored a deadline to surrender and start a 12-year prison sentence for corruption Friday.

Holed up with thousands of cheering supporters in the metalworkers' union building in his hometown of Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, the 72-year-old let the 5:00 pm (2000 GMT) deadline pass without public comment.

The development further heated up the drama over attempts to put behind bars the veteran leftist, who ruled from 2003-2011 and leads in polls ahead of the elections.

He was ordered Thursday by Brazil's top anti-corruption judge, Sergio Moro, to surrender voluntarily to police and begin incarceration in the southern city of Curitiba.

Moro gave him 24 hours, saying the cell, a separate room with its own toilet, was ready, and that Lula would not be handcuffed -- if he came quietly.

It was not clear what the next step would be. However, local media reported that Lula's lawyers were negotiating the surrender.

It would be impossible for police to arrest him by force without the likelihood of major crowd trouble.

Supporters of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rally outside the Metallurgical Union in Sao 

Bernardo do Campo after a judge gave the ex-president 24 hours to surrender and 

begin a 12-year prison term (AFP Photo/MARCELO CHELLO)

Much of the day, Lula had been waiting in hope that the country's top appeals court, the Superior Tribunal of Justice, would temporarily suspend his arrest warrant. However, the petition was rejected shortly before the deadline expired.

Lula was convicted last year of taking a luxury apartment as a kickback from a big construction company. He lost a lower court appeal in January and saw his sentence increased from nine to 12 years.

But to his Workers' Party faithful, Lula is a victim of a right-wing plot to prevent him from returning to power.

The longer he remained holed up inside the union building, the bigger the crowd grew outside.

"Lula is innocent, Lula for president!" supporters chanted.

Renata Swiecik, an unemployed mother of four who had joined the human shield, urged Lula not to hand himself over.

"We are here to resist to the end. Lula will not be a prisoner in 2018, he'll be president and help the people once more," said Swiecik, 31.

Brazilian Federal Judge Sergio Moro is in charge of the sprawling "Car Wash" 

probe, which has revealed systemic, high-level embezzlement and bribery 

throughout Brazilian business and politics (AFP Photo/Heuler Andrey)

Corruption battle

Lula's imprisonment is being celebrated on the right and among prosecutors supporting the "Car Wash" probe, which has revealed systemic, high-level embezzlement and bribery throughout Brazilian business and politics over the last four years.

To them, Lula epitomizes Brazil's corruption-riddled elite. His conviction is the biggest "Car Wash" scalp by far.

"I want Lula in prison, I want a better future and with him in the leadership we won't have that," said Maura Moraes de Oliveira, 51, who works as a maid in Curitiba.

"Not only Lula should be locked up, but all the corrupt, a complete cleaning."

Operation "Car Wash" was named after the service station where agents initially investigated a minor money laundering scheme in 2014, before realizing that they'd stumbled on a gargantuan web of embezzlement and bribery at state oil company Petrobras and right through the political classes.

Lula, who grew up poor and with little formal education before becoming a trade union leader and politician, has long said he will go down fighting.

In theory, once someone has been convicted and lost a lower court appeal, he or she is barred from running for office under Brazil's clean-slate law.

Still, even in prison, Lula has the right to register as a candidate. It would then be up to the Superior Electoral Tribunal to rule on whether his candidacy could stand.

Although Lula would almost certainly be blocked, he could use the process to maintain his political influence.

VIDEO: Leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva becomes Brazil's first ex-president to be convicted and imprisoned for corruption pic.twitter.com/GY8wmir4Oq

— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 8, 2018

Costa Rica votes in ex-minister as next president, spurns preacher rival

Yahoo – AFP, Marc Burleigh, April 2, 2018

Supporters of Costa Rica's president-elect Carlos Alvarado celebrate in San
 Jose following his convincing victory (AFP Photo/Ezequiel BECERRA)

San José (AFP) - Costa Rica on Sunday voted for a former minister from the center-left ruling party as its next president, rejecting his rival, an ultra-conservative preacher who had campaigned strongly against gay marriage.

Carlos Alvarado, a former labor minister under current President Luis Guillermo Solis, who was barred from seeking a second term, won a convincing 60.7 percent of the ballots in the run-off, electoral authorities said, based on returns from more than 90 percent of polling stations.

"There is much more that unites us than divides us," he told a cheering crowd in his victory speech, congratulating the defeated candidate.

"My duty is to unite this republic, to take it forward, so it is a leading republic of the 21st century," he said.

The right-wing preacher, Farbicio Alvarado (no relation), garnered 39.3 percent. He quickly conceded defeat to a crowd of disappointed supporters, thanked God, and congratulated Carlos Alvarado on his triumph.

"We have not won the election, but we can accept this result with our heads held high," he said.

Costa Rica, a small Central American nation of five million people, had been polarized ahead of the run-off election.

Costa Rican president-elect Carlos Alvarado accompanied by his wife Claudia 

Dobles, speaks to the press after casting his vote; the 38-year-old is also a writer, 

with three published novels, and performed in a progressive rock band at 

university (AFP Photo/Ezequiel BECERRA)

Fabricio Alvarado had surged from obscurity to lead a field of 13 candidates in the first round in February by vociferously slamming moves to recognize same-sex marriage.

That stance tapped into widespread social conservatism in the country, particularly in poorer rural areas, and the preacher was also buoyed by support from evangelical churches that have proliferated in recent decades.

Writer and ex-rocker

Carlos Alvarado, in contrast, had offered a more traditional campaign highlighting several issues -- boosting education, reducing the growing deficit, enhancing environmental protections -- while incarnating continuity with the outgoing leader.

Pre-election surveys had suggested a neck-and-neck race. But in the end, the result was a clear and resounding win for Carlos Alvarado.

He will take power next month, for a four-year term.

Aged 38, Carlos Alvarado is also a writer, with three published novels, who has a taste for rock music dating back to his university days as a singer in a progressive rock band called Dramatika. He counts Pink Floyd as one of his favorite groups.

He started out professionally as a journalist but left that when he realized that "one has to be involved to change things."

A supporter of defeated Costa Rican presidential candidate Fabricio Alvarado of

 the National Restoration Party (PRN) reacts after results were announced (AFP

 Photo/RODRIGO ARANGUA)

After moving to Panama because of his wife's architectural career -- and writing a novel there -- he returned to Costa Rica to help out on Solis's 2014 presidential campaign.

After Solis won, he was made social development minister, then labor minister. He stepped down in January this year to make his own tilt for the presidency.

Deficit challenge

Being the candidate of the ruling Citizens' Action Party was both a help and a hindrance, giving him the machinery of a party in power -- but also one diminished by a scandal of officials abusing their power and being unable to prevent a rise in violent crime.

Analysts said Alvarado managed to stay a little separate from the government as its reputation slipped, and presented himself as someone who could renew the party.

One of the biggest challenges facing Alvarado as he takes charge will be trying to cut down the deficit, which has ballooned to 6.3 percent of gross domestic product.

To do so, he will have to succeed where his predecessors have failed, in pushing through unpopular measures to increase tax collection.

On gay marriage, he has declared himself in favor, aligning with an exhortation issued in January from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that such unions be recognized.