Chilean Juan Carlos Cruz, who suffered sexual abuse from a pedophile priest, stated that Pope Francis told him that God made him gay, “he loves him like that and it doesn't matter to me”, according to the Spanish newspaper El País, this would be a one of the most progressive comments ever made by the pontiff on homosexuality. According to the report given to the publication, Cruz recently had a long private conversation with the pope in which he spoke about the abuse he suffered and the lack of action on the part of the bishops regarding the allegations. “They had told him that I was practically a pervert. I explained that I'm not the reincarnation of Saint Louis Gonzaga, but I'm not a bad person either. I try not to hurt anyone. He then told me Juan Carlos, you being gay doesn't matter. God made you this way, he loves you this way and it doesn’t matter to me”, the Chilean told El País. He also stated that Francisco asked for forgiveness “in the name of the Pope and the Church” for everything Cruz went through. Francis' comments were praised by the LGBT community as yet another sign that the pontiff wants to make homosexuals feel welcome and loved by the Catholic Church. Asked about the pontiff's comments to Cruz, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told CNN that "we don't normally comment on the pope's private conversations." According to El País, Cruz was a victim of abuse committed by Father Fernando Karadima. One of his disciples was Juan Barros, whom Cruz accuses of being present during the episodes of abuse. Initially, Francisco dismissed reports from victims and even members of his council about sexual abuse. In 2015, he named Barros as bishop of Chile. Other bishops opposed the appointment because they knew Barros' past was problematic. Still in 2015, Francisco received a letter from Cruz detailing his mistakes. At the time, the pope infuriated Chileans by saying that the accusations against Barros were “slander” and that he was certain of his innocence. On Friday, all Chilean bishops made their positions available to the pontiff. In a statement to the press, the 34 bishops summoned by the Pope to report on the sexual abuse scandals announced that “all” placed their “accusations in the hands of the Holy Father so that he can freely decide in relation to each one”. Among the 34 bishops present at the meeting were several of those accused of having covered up for decades the abuse committed by Karadima, suspended for life after being found guilty in 2011 of sexual abuse of minors in the 1980s and 1990s. The resignations came after the release of details of a 2,3-page report produced by the Vatican on the cases. In the pope's conclusions on the document, he accuses the bishops of destroying evidence of crimes, pressuring investigators to downplay allegations of abuse and committing “serious negligence” in protecting children from pedophile priests. With information from Exame magazine
