Marco Antonio Órdenes Fernández
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Marco Antonio Órdenes Fernández (born 29 October 1964) is a native of Chile and a former 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 ...
. He was Bishop of Iquique from 2006 to 2012. When appointed at the age of 42, he was the youngest bishop in the history of Chile. Accusations that he had sexually abused minors forced his resignation in 2012. Civil procedures concluded when prosecutors could not establish a case against him, but church proceedings ended with his removal from the clerical state in 2018.


Biography

Órdenes was born in
Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191,468 ...
on 29 October 1964. After obtaining a degree in obstetrics and childcare at the
University of Tarapacá University of Tarapacá ( es, Universidad de Tarapacá) is a university in Arica, Chile. It is a derivative university part of the Chilean Traditional Universities. The university publishes '' Revista Chungará'' a journal on anthropology and arch ...
, he entered the Pontifical Major Seminary of Santiago de Chile, where he completed his philosophical and theological studies, earning a bachelor's degree in theology. On 14 December 1996 he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Iquique. There he was Rector of the Marian Shrine of "La Tirana", Director of the Lay School of Formation and Diocesan Secretary for the Pastoral Coordination. After Iquique's Bishop
Juan Barros Madrid Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid (born 15 July 1956) is a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Bishop of Osorno from 2015 to 2018. He was Auxiliary Bishop of Valparaíso from 1995 to 2000, Bishop of Iquique from 2000 to 2004, and Militar ...
was transferred the
Military Ordinariate of Chile The Military Bishopric of Chile ( es, Obispado Castrense de Chile) is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church. Immediately exempt to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the Chilean Armed Force ...
, Órdenes became Diocesan Administrator on 17 November 2004. On 23 October 2006,
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
named him Bishop of Iquique. When made a bishop at the age of 42 he was the youngest bishop ever appointed in Chile. He received his episcopal consecration on 18 November from
Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa (; born 5 September 1933) is a Chilean prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Santiago from 1998 to 2010. He has been a cardinal since 2001 and was a member of Pope Francis' Council of Cardin ...
. While bishop he supported the reconstruction of churches and parish buildings that were destroyed by the earthquake that hit the
Tarapacá Region The Tarapacá Region ( es, Región de Tarapacá, ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Iquique and Tamarugal. It borders the Chilean Arica and Parinacota Region to the north, Bolivia's Oruro D ...
in June 2005. On 2 October 2012, Rodrigo Pino charged publicly that Ordenes had repeatedly abused him sexually when he was as young as 15 and an acolyte at the Iquique cathedral. Pino asked only that Ordenes be removed from the priesthood. By then the Apostolic Nuncio to Chile, Archbishop
Ivo Scapolo Ivo Scapolo (born 24 July 1953) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who has worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1984, and has served as nuncio in Bolivia, Rwanda, Chile and Portugal. He has been an archbishop since 20 ...
, had conducted a four-month-long church investigation and sent his findings to the Vatican. On 3 October Scapolo asked Ordenes to resign and to avoid publicity while his case was reviewed. Instead Ordenes gave a newspaper interview that appeared three days later. He said that whatever he did with Pino he had done nothing "not with a minor" (''no con un menor de edad''). On 8 October 2012, Órdenes submitted his resignation as Bishop of Iquique citing health problems and
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
accepted it the next day. Órdenes was not seen in public in Iquique on 14 November 2013 when he presided at his mother's funeral in the La Tirana shrine. As of 2018, he was reported to be living "a life of penitence and prayer" in Peru. On 26 January 2018, civil prosecutors dismissed their case against Ordenes after determining they could not verify the charges against him. Ordenes never complied with a subpoena requiring him to submit to questioning. On 11 October 2018, Pope Francis
laicized In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the loss of clerical state (commonly referred to as laicization, dismissal, defrocking, and degradation) is the removal of a bishop, priest, or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy. The t ...
Órdenes "as a consequence manifest abuse of minors". He is no longer a priest and cannot appeal that decision.


See also

*
Catholic Church in Chile The Catholic Church in Chile is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the curia in Rome, and the Episcopal Conference of Chile. The Church is composed of 5 archdioceses, 18 dioceses, 2 territori ...


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Diócesis de Iquique
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordenes, Marco 1964 births 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Chile Clergy removed from office People from Iquique Laicized Roman Catholic bishops Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Iquique