Headline News

Pope Francis Caught Lying About Catholic Church Sexual Abuse By Priests In Chile, Covered It Up

Pope Francis received a victim’s letter in 2015 that graphically detailed how a priest sexually abused him and how other Chilean clergy ignored it, contradicting the pope’s recent insistence that no victims had come forward to denounce the cover-up.

Published

8 years ago

February 5, 2018

Geoffrey Grider

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Pope Francis received a victim’s letter in 2015 that graphically detailed how a priest sexually abused him and how other Chilean clergy ignored it, contradicting the pope’s recent insistence that no victims had come forward to denounce the cover-up, the letter’s author and members of Francis’ own sex- abuse commission have told The Associated Press.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Pope Francis came in to “clean up” the Catholic Church, promising “zero tolerance” for priests who sexually abused thier followers. But sadly, this has not been the case. In the most explosive revelations to date, Pope Francis has been caught lying about widespread sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Chile, and about the letter hand-delivered to him written by Juan Carlos Cruz exposing it all.

The fact that Pope Francis received the eight-page letter, obtained by the AP, challenges his insistence that he has “zero tolerance” for sex abuse and cover-ups. It also calls into question his stated empathy with abuse survivors, compounding the most serious crisis of his five-year papacy.

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” Revelation 17:5,6 (KJV)

The scandal exploded last month when Francis’ trip to South America was marred by protests over his vigorous defense of Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused by victims of covering up the abuse by the Rev. Fernando Karadima. During the trip, Francis callously dismissed accusations against Barros as “slander,” seemingly unaware that victims had placed him at the scene of Karadima’s crimes.

On the plane home, confronted by an AP reporter, the pope said: “You, in all good will, tell me that there are victims, but I haven’t seen any, because they haven’t come forward.”

But members of the pope’s Commission for the Protection of Minors say that in April 2015, they sent a delegation to Rome specifically to hand-deliver a letter to the pope about Barros. The letter from Juan Carlos Cruz detailed the abuse, kissing and fondling he says he suffered at Karadima’s hands, which he said Barros and others witnessed and ignored.

Four members of the commission met with Francis’ top abuse adviser, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, explained their objections to Francis’ recent appointment of Barros as a bishop in southern Chile, and gave him the letter to deliver to Francis.

“When we gave him (O’Malley) the letter for the pope, he assured us he would give it to the pope and speak of the concerns,” then-commission member Marie Collins told the AP. “And at a later date, he assured us that that had been done.”

Cruz, who now lives and works in Philadelphia, heard the same later that year.

“Cardinal O’Malley called me after the pope’s visit here in Philadelphia and he told me, among other things, that he had given the letter to the pope — in his hands,” he said in an interview at his home Sunday.

Neither the Vatican nor O’Malley responded to multiple requests for comment.

While the 2015 summit of Francis’ commission was known and publicized at the time, the contents of Cruz’s letter — and a photograph of Collins handing it to O’Malley — were not disclosed by members. Cruz provided the letter, and Collins provided the photo, after reading an AP story that reported Francis had claimed to have never heard from any Karadima victims about Barros’ behavior.

The Barros affair first caused shockwaves in January 2015 when Francis appointed him bishop of Osorno, Chile, over the objections of the leadership of Chile’s bishops’ conference and many local priests and laity. They accepted as credible the testimony against Karadima, a prominent Chilean cleric who was sanctioned by the Vatican in 2011 for abusing minors. Barros was a Karadima protege, and according to Cruz and other victims, he witnessed the abuse and did nothing.

“Holy Father, I write you this letter because I’m tired of fighting, of crying and suffering,” Cruz wrote in Francis’ native Spanish. “Our story is well known and there’s no need to repeat it, except to tell you of the horror of having lived this abuse and how I wanted to kill myself.”

Cruz and other survivors had for years denounced the cover-up of Karadima’s crimes, but were dismissed as liars by the Chilean church hierarchy and the Vatican’s own ambassador in Santiago, who refused their repeated requests to meet before and after Barros was appointed.

After Francis’ comments backing the Chilean hierarchy caused such an outcry in Chile, he was forced last week to do an about-face: The Vatican announced it was sending in its most respected sex-crimes investigator to take testimony from Cruz and others about Barros.

In the letter to the pope, Cruz begs for Francis to listen to him and make good on his pledge of “zero tolerance.”

“Holy Father, it’s bad enough that we suffered such tremendous pain and anguish from the sexual and psychological abuse, but the terrible mistreatment we received from our pastors is almost worse,” he wrote.

Cruz goes on to detail in explicit terms the homo-eroticized nature of the circle of priests and young boys around Karadima, the charismatic preacher whose El Bosque community in the well-to-do Santiago neighborhood of Providencia produced dozens of priestly vocations and five bishops, including Barros.

He described how Karadima would kiss Barros and fondle his genitals, and do the same with younger priests and teens, and how young priests and seminarians would fight to sit next to Karadima at the table to receive his affections.

“More difficult and tough was when we were in Karadima’s room and Juan Barros — if he wasn’t kissing Karadima — would watch when Karadima would touch us — the minors — and make us kiss him, saying: ‘Put your mouth near mine and stick out your tongue.’ He would stick his out and kiss us with his tongue,” Cruz told the pope. “Juan Barros was a witness to all this innumerable times, not just with me but with others as well.”

“Juan Barros covered up everything that I have told you,” he added.

Barros has repeatedly denied witnessing any abuse or covering it up. “I never knew anything about, nor ever imagined, the serious abuses which that priest committed against the victims,” he told the AP recently. “I have never approved of nor participated in such serious, dishonest acts, and I have never been convicted by any tribunal of such things.”

For the Osorno faithful who have opposed Barros as their bishop, the issue isn’t so much a legal matter requiring proof or evidence, as Barros was a young priest at the time and not in a position of authority over Karadima. It’s more that if Barros didn’t “see” what was happening around him and doesn’t find it problematic for a priest to kiss and fondle young boys, he shouldn’t be in charge of a diocese where he is responsible for detecting inappropriate sexual behavior, reporting it to police and protecting children from pedophiles like his mentor.

Cruz had arrived at Karadima’s community in 1980 as a vulnerable teenager, distraught after the recent death of his father. He has said Karadima told him he would be like a spiritual father to him, but instead sexually abused him.

Based on testimony from Cruz and other former members of the parish, the Vatican in 2011 removed Karadima from ministry and sentenced him to a lifetime of “penance and prayer” for his crimes. Now 87, he lives in a home for elderly priests in Santiago; he hasn’t commented on the scandal and the home has declined to accept calls or visits from the news media.

The victims also testified to Chilean prosecutors, who opened an investigation into Karadima after they went public with their accusations in 2010. Chilean prosecutors had to drop charges because too much time had passed, but the judge running the case stressed that it wasn’t for lack of proof.

While the victims’ testimony was deemed credible by both Vatican and Chilean prosecutors, the local church hierarchy clearly didn’t believe them, which might have influenced Francis’ view. Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz has acknowledged he didn’t believe the victims initially and shelved an investigation. He was forced to reopen it after the victims went public.

He is now one of the Argentine pope’s key cardinal advisers.

By the time he finally got his letter into the pope’s hands in 2015, Cruz had already sent versions to many other people, and had tried for months to get an appointment with the Vatican ambassador. The embassy’s Dec. 15, 2014, email to Cruz — a month before Barros was appointed — was short and to the point:

“The apostolic nunciature has received the message you emailed Dec. 7 to the apostolic nuncio,” it read, “and at the same time communicates that your request has been met with an unfavorable response.”

One could argue that Francis didn’t pay attention to Cruz’s letter, since he receives thousands of letters every day from faithful around the world. He can’t possibly read them all, much less remember the contents years later. He might have been tired and confused after a weeklong trip to South America when he told an airborne press conference that victims never came forward to accuse Barros of cover-up.

But this was not an ordinary letter, nor were the circumstances under which it arrived in the Vatican.

Francis had named O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, to head his Commission for the Protection of Minors based on his credibility in having helped clean up the mess in Boston after the U.S. sex abuse scandal exploded there in 2002. The commission gathered outside experts to advise the church on protecting children from pedophiles and educating church personnel about preventing abuse and cover-ups.

The four commission members who were on a special subcommittee dedicated to survivors had flown to Rome specifically to speak with O’Malley about the Barros appointment and to deliver Cruz’s letter. A press release issued after the April 12, 2015, meeting read: “Cardinal O’Malley agreed to present the concerns of the subcommittee to the Holy Father.”

Commission member Catherine Bonnet, a French child psychiatrist who took the photo of Collins handing the letter to O’Malley, said the commission members had decided to descend on Rome specifically when O’Malley and other members of the pope’s group of nine cardinal advisers were meeting, so that O’Malley could put it directly into the pope’s hands.

“Cardinal O’Malley promised us when Marie gave to him the letter of Juan Carlos that he will give to Pope Francis,” she said.

O’Malley’s spokesman in Boston referred requests for comment to the Vatican. Neither the Vatican press office, nor officials at the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, responded to calls and emails seeking comment.

But O’Malley’s remarkable response to Francis’ defense of Barros and to his dismissal of the victims while he was in Chile, is perhaps now better understood.

In a rare rebuke of a pope by a cardinal, O’Malley issued a statement Jan. 20 in which he said the pope’s words were “a source of great pain for survivors of sexual abuse,” and that such expressions had the effect of abandoning victims and relegating them to “discredited exile.”

A day later, Francis apologized for having demanded “proof” of wrongdoing by Barros, saying he meant merely that he wanted to see “evidence.” But he continued to describe the accusations against Barros as “calumny” and insisted he had never heard from any victims.

Even when told in his airborne press conference Jan. 21 that Karadima’s victims had indeed placed Barros at the scene of Karadima’s abuse, Francis said: “No one has come forward. They haven’t provided any evidence for a judgment. This is all a bit vague. It’s something that can’t be accepted.”

He stood by Barros, saying: “I’m certain he’s innocent,” even while saying that he considered the testimony of victims to be “evidence” in a cover-up investigation.

“If anyone can give me evidence, I’ll be the first to listen,” he said.

Cruz said he felt like he had been slapped when he heard those words. “I was upset,” he said, “and at the same time I couldn’t believe that someone so high up like the pope himself could lie about this.” source

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Headline News

THE PROPHECY NEWS PODCAST: Trump’s War With Iran Is Costing Nearly $1 Billion Per Day And The Pentagon Will Need Another $50 Billion Just For 50 More Days

Published

2 days ago

March 8, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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9 days into Trump’s war with Iran, the trail of wreckage and spiraling costs are turning it into a dystopian nightmare

Make no mistake about it, America is in the midst of an undeclared war with Iran that is costing the American taxpayer $891 million per day. The Pentagon says it will need another $50 billion to keep the war going for the next month. To date, we’ve taken out the Ayatollah and about 40 of his cabinet. That’s pretty good. But Trump’s war with Iran has also taken out a girl’s schoolhouse killing dozens of young girls and up to 175 other civilians. That’s pretty bad, a war crime actually, but it gets worse. The US Central Command posted today that the 7th American soldier has now given their life for regime change in Iran. Did you have “Dying to support Trump’s war” on your 2026 bingo card? I didn’t vote for this.

“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)” 2 Corinthians 10:4 (KJB)

On this episode of Rightly Dividing, perhaps you’ve noticed that gas has gone up over $0.50 per gallon since the Iran War began, and should it continue into springtime, we could very well see a return to Biden-era gas prices of around $5.00 per gallon in a nationwide average. At that point, a recession would be a near guarantee. Man, this is a lot of bad news, so let me give you some good news. Russia is having a boom time as Europe turns to them for their oil and natural gas needs, and that is making Putin a very happy man. OK, so that’s not really good news, but it’s the best we’ve got as the Iran War continues to escalate. Here’s a sobering historical fact: since the invention of the airplane for use in warfare, no air war has ever produced a victory without also putting combat troops on the ground. Not a single time. Iran is not going to surrender, and as this thing drags out, either Israel, the United States or both of them will be forced to wage a ground war. WWIII becomes more and more possible, and probable, with each day that this undeclared war drags on. Today we get you up to speed on the whole mess.

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Trump Declares That The War In Iran Is ‘Already Won’ But A Classified Report By The National Intelligence Council Says This Is Only Just The Beginning

Published

2 days ago

March 8, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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The National Intelligence Council found that even a large-scale assault on Iran launched by the United States would be unlikely to oust the Islamic republic’s entrenched military and clerical establishment

When you open your Bible, read it, and believe what you read in the context where you find it, you come to some rock-solid conclusions almost immediately. First, you begin to understand that a hundred Hitlers could not wipe the Jews from off the face of the Earth, and that Israel as an ethnically-identifiable nation will exist past the end of the Church Age. The second thing you realize is that Iran, also called Persia and Elam, is fully-functioning as an enemy of Israel during this time as a Muslim Caliphate. Be honest, what does that tell you about the current war?

“Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?” Luke 14:31 (KJB)

On paper, Iran is no match for the might and power of the United States, we all know that. And on paper, Iran is not really a match against Israel, either. But battles and wars are not fought on paper, they are fought on the battlefield. The God of The Book concerns Himself with the affairs of nations as Daniel tells us, and He doubly concerns Himself with the affairs of nations that are spoken of by the prophets in the Scripture of truth. The US Department of War will not determine the outcome of this fight, neither will NATO or the United Nations Security Council. What you are watching unfold right now are the pieces of the end times chessboard being moved and put into position by God for the coming Checkmate.

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Intel report warns large-scale war ‘unlikely’ to oust Iran’s regime

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: A classified report by the National Intelligence Council found that even a large-scale assault on Iran launched by the United States would be unlikely to oust the Islamic republic’s entrenched military and clerical establishment, a sobering assessment as the Trump administration raises the specter of an extended military campaign that officials say has “only just begun.” The findings, confirmed to The Washington Post by three people familiar with the report’s contents, raise doubts about President Donald Trump’s declared plan to “clean out” Iran’s leadership structure and install a ruler of his choosing.

The report, completed about a week before the United States and Israel initiated the war on Feb. 28, outlined succession scenarios stemming from either a narrowly tailored campaign against Iran’s leaders or a broader assault against its leadership and government institutions, the people familiar with its findings said. In both cases, the intelligence concluded that Iran’s clerical and military establishment would respond to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by following protocols designed to preserve continuity of power, these people said.

Iran has been dealing heavy fire, and they are receiving heavy fire. How long can this thing last? Trump thinks it’s already over, I do not. Comment below on how long you think it will or can go. pic.twitter.com/w7bcJc6pAr

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) March 8, 2026

The prospect of Iran’s fragmented opposition taking control of the country was described as “unlikely,” said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a classified report. The National Intelligence Council, or NIC, is composed of veteran analysts who produce classified assessments meant to represent the collective wisdom of Washington’s 18 intelligence agencies. The CIA referred questions to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which declined to comment. The White House did not say if the president was briefed on this assessment before approving the military operation, which has quickly expanded east to include submarine warfare in the Indian Ocean and west to counter-missile showdowns near NATO member Turkey.

“President Trump and the administration have clearly outlined their goals with regard to Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles and production capacity, demolish their navy, end their ability to arm proxies, and prevent them from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The Iranian regime is being absolutely crushed.”

As the war enters its second week, Trump continues to demand Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER,” as he put it in a Truth Social post, and has suggested he should have a role in picking the country’s next leader.

Trump told journalists that the younger Khamenei is “incompetent” and a “lightweight,” and that he doesn’t want Iranian leaders who will simply “rebuild” the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure.

“We want them to have a good leader. We have some people who I think would do a good job,” he told NBC News.

Iran’s Parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, rejected the notion that Trump will play any role in appointing Iran’s next leader. “The fate of dear Iran, which is more precious than life, will be determined solely by the proud Iranian nation, not by Jeffrey Epstein’s gang,” Ghalibaf said on X, referring to the late sex offender who was close friends with Trump for several years before they had a falling out.

Current and former U.S. officials say they see little sign, at least so far, of a mass popular uprising in Iran or of significant fissures within the government or security forces that will result in a new regime. Iran’s security forces killed thousands of protesters during demonstrations in January fueled by the country’s abysmal economy. The guidance from Trump to the Iranian people has been to shelter in place until the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign concludes.

With Iran’s clerical and military establishment still in control, experts say Trump’s ability to dictate political outcomes is limited.

“Bending the knee to Trump would go against everything they stand for,” said Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “The upper echelons of the clerical establishment are ideological, and so their modus operandi is to resist American imperialism.”

Trump could play kingmaker if the regime were to crumble, but the NIC report does not view the establishment’s hold on power as brittle. “There’s no other force within Iran that can confront the remaining power that the regime has,” said Maloney, of the Brookings Institution. “Even if they’re not able to project that power very effectively against their neighbors, they can certainly dominate inside the country.” READ MORE

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Headline News

In A Stunning Twist, Donald Trump’s Department Of War Turns To Ukraine For Help With Combatting The Relentless Swarms Of Iranian Drone Attacks

Published

3 days ago

March 7, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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The Trump administration, which has expressed frequent exasperation with all that has been asked of it by Ukraine, had an urgent request of its own this week.

Today the war with Iran started by Trump’s Department of War is officially one week old, and there are some interesting things to note at this point in the operations. First, President Trump has declared that today “Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time.” Second, and rather amazingly, the Department of War has reached out to Ukraine for help with fighting off Iranian drone attacks. Wha….??? How on Earth did we get to that point in only 7 days? Yikes.

“For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.” Revelation 17:17 (KJB)

The key to understanding the things that Trump says is that 50% of whatever he says or posts is not true, 25% of it is gross exaggeration, and somewhere in the remaining 25% if you’re willing to put the work in, you’ll find the actual truth of what’s he’s talking about. Remember last summer when Zelensky was invited to the White House only to be attacked and roundly mocked and humiliated by Trump and Vance? Now the ‘Lethalitymaxxing’ Department of War needs Zelensky’s help? You know what that tells me? That Trump has launched America into a war that we are not prepared for, and that in only 7 days, the whole thing is already starting to unravel. But as unpleasant and unpalatable as that thought may be, it pales in comparison to Islamic terror attacks restarting on American soil. That’s what you need to mentally prepare yourself for. It only gets worse from here.

Unprepared for Iranian drones, U.S. and partners seek Ukraine’s help

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST: With swarms of Iranian drones breaching U.S. air defense systems and striking targets across the Middle East, Ukraine — which has spent years confronting nearly identical attacks — was asked to come to the aid of the United States and its partners.

“We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection,” against Iran’s drone systems, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday on X. Ukrainian advisers and systems would shortly be on their way to the Persian Gulf region, Zelensky said, because “Ukraine helps partners who help ensure our security.”

We received a request from the United States for specific support in protection against “shaheds” in the Middle East region. I gave instructions to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the required security. Ukraine helps…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 5, 2026

It was a rare moment for Zelensky to be in position of lending assistance — however small in scale — a year after he was pilloried in an Oval Office visit with President Donald Trump for pleading for U.S. support with “no cards” to play of his own and for not showing sufficient gratitude. More broadly, however, the U.S. request has focused attention on why the United States and its gulf allies have seemed poorly prepared for retaliatory drone strikes by an adversary that has spent much of the past four years stockpiling lethal “Shahed” drones by the thousands, as well as whether U.S. and other military leaders had absorbed the lessons of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including incursions into NATO airspace.

“If you are planning a war against Iran — the original purveyor of Shahed drones — and you are surprised that Shaheds are numerous and difficult to intercept you haven’t been paying attention,” said Dara Massicot, a defense and security analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“There is a multiyear disconnect between the Ukrainian combat experience and institutionalizing its lessons in the U.S. military,” Massicot said. As a result, she said, the United States and its allies are “reaching out to Ukraine in a time of crisis.”
A U.S. official acknowledged a U.S. request but said it was unclear whether it was before or during the current operation.

“Contact was made on how to work together and benefit from their experience,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive communications. The White House declined to provide further details and referred to Trump’s comments to Reuters on Thursday. The president said the U.S. would accept assistance from any country when asked about Zelensky’s comments. READ MORE