Oct. 13 (UPI) — Two retired Chilean clerks were expelled from priesthood by Pope Francis, the Vatican announced Saturday.
A statement said the two men, Archbishop Emeritus Francisco José Cox Huneeus and Bishop Emeritus Marco Antonio Órdenes Fernández, were defrocked Thursday “as a consequence of manifest abuse of minors.”
The Vatican said the move by the pope may not be appealed.
Also on Saturday, Chilean President Sebastian Pinera visitedwith the pope at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. During the private conversation, “satisfaction was expressed for the existing good relations between the Holy See and Chile,” the Vatican said.
Talks also focused on “the painful scourge of abuse of minors,” which reiterated collaboration to “combat and prevent the perpetration of such crimes and their concealment.”
The expulsions come a few weeks after the pope defrocked Chilean priest Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty by the church in 2011 of sexually abusing minors. On Sept. 12, the pope expelled Father Cristián Precht Bañados with no possibility of appeal after he was found guilty of sexually abusing minors and vulnerable adults.
