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Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Chilean Cardinal Under Investigation for Covering Up Clerical Sex Abuse

Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, Archbishop of Santiago, is under investigation in Chile for covering up clerical sex abuse.

The Vatican announced on Saturday that Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Chilean Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, Archbishop of Santiago. The Vatican did not give a reason for the archbishop’s departure, but Ezzati is under investigation by local authorities for covering up and lying about sex abuse at the hands of pedophile priests under his management. Ezzati is the eighth Chilean bishop to resign as part of a clerical sex abuse scandal in that nation. Ezzati is being sued for $500,000 for covering up the rape of a child in a local cathedral, according to the Catholic news site Crux. The clerical sex abuse scandal in Chile has been especially troubling to Francis, who originally sided with errant bishops but later changed course to condemn them. In 2018, all 31 active and three retired bishops in Chile resigned en masse over the scandal. Only eight resignations have been accepted so far.

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