Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela Abarca (born 5 April 1954) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, who was Bishop of Talca from 1996 to 2018.

Biography

Horacio Valenzuela was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

on 5 April 1954. He studied forestry at the

Universidad de Concepción Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

and the

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

before entering the Major Seminary of Santiago. He was ordained a priest on 17 August 1985 by Cardinal

Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín Juan Francisco Fresno Larraín (26 July 1914 – 14 October 2004) was a Chilean cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santiago de Chile from 1983 to 1990, and was elevated to the Cardinalate in 1985. Early life and ...

and filled a variety of pastoral assignments over the next decade. On 11 March 1995,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named him

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Gummi in Proconsulari Gummies, gummi candies, gummy candies, or jelly sweets are a broad category of gelatin-based chewable sweets. Gummi bears, Sour Patch Kids, and Jelly Babies are widely popular and are a well-known part of the sweets industry. Gummies are availabl ...

and Auxiliary Bishop of

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on 7 May from Cardinal

Carlos Cardinal Oviedo Cavada Carlos Oviedo Cavada, O. de M. (19 January 1927 – 7 December 1998) was a Chilean Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santiago de Chile from 1990 to 1998, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1994. Biography Cavada ...

. John Paul named him Bishop of Talca on 12 December 1996. Before becoming a priest Valenzuela was part of a religious association formed by

Fernando Karadima The case of Fernando Karadima concerned the sexual abuse of minors in Chile, which became public in 2010. It raised questions about the responsibility and complicity of several Chilean bishops, including some of the country's highest-ranking Cath ...

, and he remained part of his circle. Valenzuela defended Karadima when he faced charges of sexual abuse of minors, and was himself accused along with several other bishops of abetting Karadima. Valenzuela said he never witnessed inappropriate kissing and that "Regarding the way in which he exercised spiritual direction, one must consider the strong character of Father Fernando which led him to correct it severely in order to educate: my experience is that this was not to exert undue pressure, control and manipulation. He corrected me many times and I appreciate it. We were all adults and if anyone felt uncomfortable he could get away". On 18 May 2018, Valenzuela submitted his resignation to Pope Francis, as did all the Chilean bishops at the conclusion of a three-day meeting in Rome.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted Valenzuela's resignation on 28 June 2018. In a farewell message to the people of his diocese, Valenzuela apologized in general terms "for what I did not do or did wrong", without mentioning the sexual abuse crisis or its victims. He declined to give interviews, even climbing out a window to avoid a reporter. In December 2018, the Vatican launched a formal investigation into allegations of clerical abuse of nuns in the Tacla Diocese while Valenzuela was bishop. Some victims alleged that Valenzuela was aware of the abuse. Valenzuela had a private audience with Pope Francis on 15 April 2019.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valenzuela, Horacio 1954 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Chile People from Santiago Roman Catholic bishops of Talca Roman Catholic bishops of Santiago de Chile Sexual abuse of women in the Catholic Church

Biography

See also

References

Sources