Did Pope Francis just make things more difficult for victims?

The leader of the Roman Catholic church left made stunned when he accused clergy sex abuse victims of slander.

The Associated Press reports that Chilean sex abuse victims of a pedophile priest named Rev. Fernando Karadima were accused of slandering because they claimed Bishop did nothing to help them.

The claim is that he protected the pedophile priest. In fact, one of Karadima’s victims says the Bishop Juan Barros watched as he was abused when he was a teenager.

Pope Francis reacts to sexual abuse claims

When asked about the accusations, the Pontiff said, “The day someone brings me proof against Bishop Barros, then I will talk. But there is not one single piece of evidence. It is all slander. Is that clear?”

This earned a backlash from the Chilean victims and human rights activists including Joelle Casteix.

Speaking with Huffington Post, Casteix, a California native, and advocate for abuse victims said, “Every abuser says to his victim: You have no proof. No one is going to believe you

“What Pope Francis did was put himself in the abuser’s seat, in the power position. What he’s doing is revictimizing every single child victim and putting himself in the abuser’s shoes.”

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Pope Francis apologizes to sexual abuse victims after backlash

Reactions like this have led to an apology from the Pontiff. On Sunday, January 21, 2017, the Catholic leader issued an apology.

Speaking with reporters, he said: “I have to apologize,” adding that he realized he had “wounded many people who were abused”.

“I apologize to them if I hurt them without realizing it, but it was a wound that I inflicted without meaning to. It pains me very much.

“I know how much they (abuse victims) suffer in hearing the pope say to them ‘bring me a letter with the proof,’ I realize that it is a slap in their faces, and now I realize that my expression was an unfortunate one”.

Despite the apology, Reuters reports that Pope Francis is still defending the Chilean bishop.

In his words, “I can’t condemn him because I don’t have evidence. But I’m also convinced that he’s innocent.”

He also revealed that Barros will remain the Bishop until credible evidence is found against him.

These accusations against Karadima go far back as the 1980s. Since then, nothing has really been done except to sentence him to a lifetime of penance and prayer for his sins in 2011.

The victims and human rights advocates have complained that the church has not done enough. The complaints got worse after Barros was appointed as head of the diocese of Osorno in south-central Chile in 2015.

The Roman Catholic church’s behavior towards sexual abuse victims in Chile has resulted in protests, and attacks on at least eight Catholic churches.