Pope Francis deprived the dignity of two bishops from Chile accused of sexual harassment of minors. According to the Vatican News Portal on Saturday, October 13, the status of a cleric is denied the former archbishop of the Chilean city of La Serena, Francisco Jose Cox Unieus, and the former bishop of the city Iquique Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandes, who are deprived of cleric status..

Deprivation of dignity - the most severe punishment to which the Catholic Church can subject clerics, notes the news agency KNA. The decision of the pontiff, according to which Cox retains membership in the Institute of the Schonstatt fathers, is not subject to appeal, writes DW.

84-year-old Cox was the Archbishop of La Serena from 1990 to 1997. At the age of 63, he left his post without explanation. In this case, usually Catholic bishops leave their posts after reaching 75 years, the Catholic News Agency KNA indicates. Since 2002, Cox has been living in the town of Vallendar in the west of the FRG and is a member of the Schonstatt movement. In early August, the movement reported to law enforcement on a suspected case of sexual harassment by Cox in 2004. However, the police did not initiate an investigation, citing the absence of corpus delicti..

The Order left the post of Archbishop in 2012, when there were two court proceedings against him. The Order explained his departure by deteriorating health and left for treatment in Peru, where he still lives.. According to media reports, in June 2017, members of one of the Catholic communities sent a letter to the new Bishop Iquique and the Vatican with evidence of sexual harassment by the Order.