Whistleblowers urge Pope Francis to end sex abuse ‘epidemic’

Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo spoke to reporters on Wednesday after spending five days with the pope at his Vatican hotel.

Their press conference was broadcast live in Chile, a sign of the unprecedented nature of their hours of meetings with the pope.

Mr Cruz said that during his private encounter with Francis, the pope acknowledged: “I was part of the problem.

“I caused this, and I apologise to you.”

“I believe that he was sincere,” Mr Cruz said.

Mr Cruz said he believed that Francis was simply misinformed about the case of Bishop Juan Barros, whom the three men have long accused of having witnessed and ignored their abuse.

Mr Barros was a protege of the Reverend Fernando Karadima, a charismatic preacher and darling of Chile’s conservative Catholic society who was removed from ministry and sentenced by the Vatican in 2011 to live in penance and prayer for having sexually abused minors.

Mr Barros and other Karadima-trained bishops never acknowledged having witnessed his abuse, even though his victims have long placed them at the scene.

Francis had strongly defended Mr Barros during his January trip to Chile, calling the accusations against him “calumny”.

He claimed to have never heard from victims about Mr Barros, even though he had received in 2015 a letter from Mr Cruz detailing Mr Barros’…