Fernando Karadima, a Chilean priest who was at the center of a sexual abuse scandal that has recently shaken the Catholic Church in Chile and who was eventually defrocked by the pope, has died. Karadima died Sunday of bronchopneumonia and kidney failure in the Santiago nursing home where he was living, according to his death certificate. AdvertisementThe Chile abuse scandal first erupted in 2009, when victims publicly accused Karadima, then one of the country’s most prominent preachers, of molesting them for years. But some of his victims have criticized the Chilean Catholic Church and the Vatican for mishandling several cases. During a trip to Chile in 2018, Pope Francis discredited the victims, outraging survivors and their supporters.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 26, 2021 19:52 UTC