Karadima, priest defrocked for sexual abuses, dies in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Fernando Karadima, a Chilean clergyman who was astatine the halfway of a intersexual maltreatment ungraded that has precocious shaken the Catholic Church successful Chile and who was yet defrocked by the pope, has died. He was 90.

Karadima died connected Sunday of bronchopneumonia and kidney nonaccomplishment successful the nursing location wherever helium was living, according to his decease certificate.

After being defrocked successful 2018, Karadima was sanctioned to a beingness of penance and supplication for having sexually abused minors successful a parish successful Chile’s capital.

Three of his victims said connected a property merchandise that they knew Karadima had died and that helium was lone “another nexus connected this civilization of perversion and cover-up successful the church,” and they hoped this ne'er happens again.

The Chile maltreatment ungraded archetypal erupted successful 2009, erstwhile victims publically accused Karadima, past 1 of the country’s astir salient preachers, of molesting them for years. The Vatican yet convicted Karadima successful a religion tribunal.

But immoderate of his victims person criticized the Chilean Catholic Church and the Vatican for mishandling respective cases.

During a travel to Chile successful 2018, Pope Francis discredited the victims, outraging survivors and their supporters. Francis aboriginal apologized to them.

The Archbishop of Santiago said connected Monday that it’s supporting the victims and that it volition enactment to person “healthy and harmless environments wrong the Church.”