Pope Invites Three Sex Abuse Survivors to Vatican Pope Francis invited three survivors of the Chilean sex abuse scandal to visit the Vatican from Apr. 26 to May 1. One of the survivors, Juan Carlos Cruz, said the Pope invited him to the Vatican last Saturday, and the three survivors will meet with him in a group and individually. The invitation follows a letter from the Vatican to the bishops at the Episcopal Conference of Chile, in which the Pope apologized for “grave errors” in handling the scandal. During a visit to Chile in January, Francis defended bishop Juan Barros, who allegedly covered up for the sexual abuses of Rev. Fernando Karadima. Now, Francis has had a change of heart after declaring "There is not a single proof against [Karadima], everything is slander." Pope Francis Pope Francis