Sunday, March 22, 2015

Bishop Barros of Southern Chile Should Resign For The Good of the Church

Catholic bloggers have questioned the appointment and the silence from Rome.  Why would Pope Francis insist on appointing Rev. Juan Barros, Bishop of Osorno, Chile when the appointment was controversial from the start? Whoever advised Pope Francis on this decision, missed the mark.
In today's New York Times it stated that, "Hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black barged into a cathedral in a city in southern Chile on Saturday and interrupted the installation ceremony for the city's
new Roman Catholic bishop, Juan Barros, whom they accuse of complicity in a notorious case of clerical sexual abuse, blocking his passage and shouting, 'Barros, get out of the city.'"
There was a chaotic scene in the cathedral with demonstrators as well as the media and Barros' supporters as well. Outside the cathedral over 3,000 people chanted that he should resign.
Demonstrators were claiming that they received a "slap in the face from Pope Francis himself," with the unpopular appointment.
The article claims that Pope Francis was well aware of the controversy surrounding the Rev. Juan Barros but my question is was the Pope well advised, was he made aware of the public outcry and the amount of upsetness this appointment caused the Catholic population of Chile?
How can this Bishop be effective in his role? In my humble opinion, and for the good of the Church, Bishop Barros should humbly resign and do other work in the Church where he can be more effective. I'm not judging him because I don't know all the circumstances but I do know that the Protestant ministers in that area of Chile will only be too happy to welcome all the disenchanted Catholics who decide to leave the Church over this appointment.
NJA