Burke names Chilean abuse survivors attending papal meeting

Responding to journalists’ questions about Pope Francis’ meeting with Chilean abuse victims, the head of the Holy See press office, Greg Burke, said that the three men will be welcomed at the weekend by the Pope to his residence in the Vatican, the Casa Santa Marta.

Burke named the three survivors as Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton e Jose Andrés Murillo, adding that the Pope is grateful they have accepted the invitation.

He said that during the personal encounters, Pope Francis “wishes to ask them for forgiveness, to share their pain and his shame for what they have suffered and, above all, to listen to all their suggestions so that such reprehensible acts do not happen again”.

Burke said that the Holy Father will meet each survivor individually, allowing them as much time as they wish to talk.

He said the Pope asks for prayers for the Church in Chile at this painful moment, hoping that these meetings can take place in an atmosphere of “serene trust”, marking a vital step on the road to recovery and guaranteeing that "abuses of conscience, of power and especially sexual abuse in the Church" never happen again