After the bishops of Chile issued a formal apology for failing to listen to clerical abuse victims and drew up national guidelines for responding to abuse allegations, Pope Francis sent them a handwritten letter of thanks.
"I am struck by the work of reflection, discernment and the decisions you have made," the Pope wrote in the letter dated August 3 and posted on the website of the Chilean bishops' conference.
Addressed to Bishop Santiago Silva Retamales, the military ordinary and conference president, Pope Francis's letter praised the decisions as "realistic and concrete."
