Pope Francis publicly expressed pain and shame on Tuesday over the rape and molestation of children by priests in Chile and later listened, prayed and cried at a private meeting with victims. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said the meeting took place in the Vatican embassy in Santiago.
On his first full day in Chile on Tuesday Pope Francis immediately confronted the issue of sex abuse by the country's Catholic clergy, apologized and said he felt ashamed -- just hours after several Chilean churches were reportedly firebombed.
While overflying Argentine territory on Monday, in his trip to Chile for a three-day visit, Pope Francis sent his “warm greetings” to President Mauricio Macri and called on his fellow Argentines not to forget to pray for him, in his twenty second apostolic trip, which also includes Peru.
Argentine born pope Francis three-day visit to neighboring Chile attracted less of his countrypeople than was expected according to the preparations and border controls. The Argentine Gendarmerie at the Christ Redempteur pass, reported that on Sunday, 4.283 people in 1.995 vehicles crossed to Chile plus another 2.966 faithfull in 77 coaches.
Pope Francis flew in to Chile's capital Monday evening for a visit expected to be met with protests over sexual abuse by priests and confronted by many Chileans deeply skeptical about the Roman Catholic Church. It's the pope's first visit to Chile, a nation of 17 million people since taking the reins of the church in 2013.
During his visit to Chile and Peru, Pope Francis will honor the country’s religious roots and underline the plight of indigenous men and women. The Vatican said the pope will be in Chile Jan. 15-18, visiting the cities of Santiago, Temuco and Iquique. He then will fly to Peru and, from Jan. 18-21, he will visit Lima, Puerto Maldonado and Trujillo.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Pope Francis to apologize for the role of the Catholic Church in a Canadian school system where indigenous children were abused for decades. The PM met the pontiff at the Vatican on Monday as part of his trip to Italy for the G7 summit.
Pope Francis insisted that indigenous groups must give prior consent to any economic activity affecting their ancestral lands, a view that conflict with the Trump administration, which is pushing to build a US$3.8bn oil pipeline over opposition from American Indians.
The president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro is working to set up a meeting with Pope Francis in hopes of restarting talks with the Venezuelan opposition. Maduro is reportedly hoping to meet with the Pope at the Vatican, along with representatives from his opposition.
Falkland Islands lawmaker, MLA Gavin Short has picked a dispute with possibly the most mediatic character in Argentina, a simple soccer commentator who in three decades has built a powerful entertainment corporation and is the showman of one of the evening programs which for years has had the highest ratings.