The last of the four meetings held by the Holy Father with the 34 Chilean bishops in the study of the Paul VI Hall came to an end at 18.40 this afternoon.

At the end of this period of discernment and fraternal encounter, Pope Francis handed to each of his brothers in the episcopate the letter published here below:

Letter of the Holy Father

To the Bishops of Chile
Dear brothers in the episcopate,

I wish to thank you for this invitation so that, together, we are able to carry out a frank discernment regarding the grave events that have damaged the ecclesial communion and weakened the work of the Church of Chile in recent years.

In the light of these painful events regarding abuses – of minors, of power and of conscience – we have examined the seriousness of these events and the tragic consequences they have had, particularly for the victims. To some of them I myself made a heartfelt plea for forgiveness, to which you have joined in a single will and with the firm intention of repairing the damages caused.

I thank you for the full willingness each one of you has shown to adhere to and collaborate in all the changes and resolutions we will have to implement in the short, medium and long term in order to restore justice and ecclesial communion.

After these days of prayer and reflection I ask you to continue building a prophetic Church, which knows how to restore to the centre what is important: service to your Lord in the hungry, in the prisoner, in the migrant, and in the abused.

Please, do not forget to pray for me.

May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin take care of you. Fraternally

FRANCIS