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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 15 May 2018

Chilean bishops open to resignations, reparation for abuse

By NICOLE WINFIELD what he says. If he asks, uary that the accusations
Associated Press we'll do it," he said. against Barros were po-
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Chile's Francis summoned the litically motivated and de-
Catholic bishops said Mon- bishops to Rome for an void of proof.
day they were open to emergency summit after On Monday, Gonzalez
whatever Pope Francis pro- receiving a 2,300-page re- said he stood by Barros be-
poses to overhaul the Chil- port on the abuse cover-up cause his "brother felt hurt,
ean church, including the scandal, which he helped alone, a bit abandoned,"
removal of bishops, reforms fuel. During a visit to Chile and that any good Catho-
of seminaries and paying in January, Francis strongly lic would have done the
financial reparation to vic- defended a bishop, Juan same.
tims of a clergy sex abuse Barros, who was accused Victims of the Rev. Fer-
and cover-up scandal,. by victims of Chile's most nando Karadima have
Representatives of the Chil- notorious predator priest of described the pain and
ean bishops conference having witnessed and ig- anguish they felt over the
told reporters they were nored their abuse. support afforded Barros,
heading into three days of Francis admitted he made whom they placed at the
meetings with Francis hum- "grave errors of judgement" scene of their abuse.
bled, pained and shamed in the case and blamed Barros and two other
for their own errors in han- a "lack of truthful and bal- Karadima-trained bishops
dling abuse cases. They anced information" for his are widely expected to re-
said they wanted to listen missteps. sign. But the scandal has Members of Chile's bishops conference Luis Fernando Ramos
Perez, left, and Juan Ignacio Gonzalez, meet reporters at the
to Francis and would follow Chile's bishops have insist- tainted other bishops, in- Vatican, Monday, May 14, 2108.
his lead in asking forgive- ed they provided Francis cluding one of Francis' top Associated Press
ness of the victims they had with correct information, advisers, the retired arch-
discredited. and they declined Monday bishop of Santiago. said the seminary train- victims were publicly humili-
A conference spokesman, to go into detail about who Gonzalez and the secre- ing Chilean priests receive ated by Santiago's church
Bishop Juan Ignacio Gon- knew what and when. tary general of the confer- needs to include courses leaders after they sued the
zalez, said "it's possible" Gonzalez, the conference ence, Bishop Fernando Ra- on child protection. archdiocese for alleged
some bishops would offer spokesman, was among mos, said it was clear that They also didn't rule out cover-up. After a court
to resign, but that it was up Barros' strong defenders. changes were necessary in financial reparations for ruled against them, the vic-
to the pope. "We'll respect He said as recently as Jan- the Chilean church. They victims. Karadima's main tims are appealing.q

Congo approves use of experimental Ebola vaccine, WHO says

By SALEH MWANAMILON- safe and efficacious and vaccine, said ministry ple who have had contact that began in 2014 and left
GO and JAMEY KEATEN has been already tested. spokeswoman Jessyca Ilun- with the patients, she said. more than 11,300 dead.
Associated Press So I think we can all be pre- ga, who said they should Mobile laboratories were There is no specific treat-
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — pared," he said. "All is ready arrive by the end of the deployed to Mbandaka ment for Ebola, which is
Congo has agreed to allow now, to use it." week. and Bikoro on Saturday, spread through the bodily
the World Health Organiza- The outbreak was an- "The vaccination cam- she said, adding that results fluids of people exhibiting
tion to use an experimental nounced last week in paign starts next week, ev- from the first 12 samples symptoms.
Ebola vaccine to combat Bikoro, in Congo's north- erything depends on the tested with that method The new experimental vac-
an outbreak announced west. Health officials trav- logistics because the vac- should be available tomor- cine, developed by the
last week, the WHO direc- eled there after Congo's cine must be kept at minus row. Canadian government
tor-general said Monday. Equateur provincial health 60 degrees Celsius, and This is the ninth Ebola out- and now licensed to the
The aim is for health offi- ministry on May 3 alerted we need to assure that the break in Congo since 1976, U.S.-based Merck and has
cials to start using the vac- them to 17 deaths from a cold chain is assured from when the deadly disease been shown to be highly
cine, once it's shipped, by hemorrhagic fever. Geneva to Bikoro," she said. was first identified. Congo effective against the virus.
the end of the week, or As of May 13, Congo has The Ebola vaccination has a long track record It was tested in Guinea in
next week if there are dif- 39 suspected, probable campaign will first target with Ebola, WHO said. The 2015.
ficulties, said WHO Director- and confirmed cases of health workers, Ilunga said. last outbreak that was an- Though the Congo out-
General Tedros Adhanom Ebola since April, including Three nurses are among nounced a year ago, was break is of a different strain,
Ghebreyesus. 19 deaths, WHO reported. those with suspected cas- contained and declared the experimental vaccine
"We have agreement, reg- Two cases of Ebola have es, and another is among over by July 2017. is still thought to be safe
istration, plus import per- been confirmed. the dead. None of these outbreaks and effective.
mit — everything formally Congo's Ministry of Health The teams on site have al- was connected to the mas- WHO chief Tedros had led
agreed already. And as has requested that WHO ready identified more than sive outbreak in Guinea, a delegation to the affect-
you know that vaccine is send 4,000 doses of the 350 contacts, who are peo- Liberia and Sierra Leone ed region on Sunday.q