The Vatican has opened an investigation into a case of alleged sexual abuse perpetrated about fifty years ago on a minor, by the Chilean Archbishop Bernardino Piñera, today's centenary uncle of the current president Sebastian Piñera, said Tuesday the Chilean nunciature.
Man in the Chilean Church
"The Holy See has ordered a preliminary investigation to determine the credibility of a complaint of alleged sexual abuse of a minor committed over 50 years ago by Bishop Bernardino Piñera Carvallo, Archbishop Emeritus of La Serena", Chilean city of center-west, said in a statement the Vatican Embassy in Chile. "We are in contact with the person who lodged the complaint and, at the same time, we are acting in accordance with the principle of the presumption of innocence," he added.
158 cases of sexual abuse in the country
Bernardino Piñera, now 103, is the uncle of the current Chilean president and a trainer of renowned priests in the country. He presided over the Chilean Episcopal Conference between 1984 and 1988.
A total of 158 sexual abuse cases involving 219 Church members are being investigated in the country. Of the 241 victims identified, 123 were minors at the time. These cases revealed in recent years have reduced the influence of the Church in Chilean society, once one of the most Catholic and conservative in Latin America.