In Chile, Court Awards Damages In Priest Sexual Abuse Case As Investigations Continue

In Chile, the Ninth Chamber Court of Appeals in Santiago has awarded the equivalent of $670,000(US) to three victims of sex abuse by former Catholic priest  Fernando Karadima who was removed from the priesthood by Pope Francis a few weeks ago.  According to  yesterday's Santiago Times, the award against the Archdiocese of Santiago comes in a suit in which Cardinals Francisco Javier Errázuriz and Ricardo Ezzati are accused of covering up Karadima's abuses. The Santiago Times adds:

According to a cadastre published by the Chilean National Prosecutor’s Office at the end of August, there are currently 119 investigations in progress against 167 persons related to the Church and 178 victims quantified, 79 of whom were minors when the events occurred.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of five Chilean bishops, after last May the 34 bishops of the country presented their resignation en bloc to the pontiff in the Vatican after acknowledging that they had committed “serious errors and omissions”.

Chile's Parliament Approves Civil Unions

On Wednesday, the National Congress of Chile (Chile's Parliament) gave final approval to the Civil Union Agreement bill.  PanAm Post reports that if, as expected, Chilean President Michelle Bachele signs the bill, this will make Chile the seventh South American country to recognize civil unions. The bill, which applies to both same-sex and opposite-sex civil unions, provides for inheritance, pension and health plan rights.