Pope Francis has
defrocked Fernando Karadima Farina, a priest at the centre of
the scandal regarding pedophilia by the clergy in Chile, the
Vatican said on Friday.
In February 2011, after several years of a Catholic canonical
investigation, the Vatican found Karadima guilty of sexually
abusing minors and psychological abuse in Chile.
The case sparked a wider child-sex-abuse scandal that the
Chilean Church has yet to fully recover from.
Many of the local faithful are still furious over a 2015
decision by Pope Francis to appoint Osorno Bishop Juan Barros,
who had been one of Karadima's proteges.
Francis caused an outcry during his visit to Chile in January
when he defended Barros, who is accused of protecting Karadima
despite having witnessed the abuse, saying there was no proof.
The pope subsequently admitted to making "serious mistakes"
over child sex abuse by members of the clergy in Chile and
accepted Barros's resignation in June.
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