Ex-Chilean bishop returns to face allegations of sex abuse

SANTIAGO, Chile – A Catholic movement says former Chilean bishop Francisco Cox has returned to the country to face accusations of sex abuse after spending 17 years in Germany.

The Schoenstatt Movement said in a statement that the 85-year-old Cox arrived Sunday and was taken to a residence outside the capital, where his diabetes will be tended to. Cox also suffers from prostate cancer and senile dementia.

Local Schoenstatt superior Fernando Baeza said in Monday’s statement that the group will co-operate with authorities and guarantees Cox will be available to the justice system.

Cox resigned his bishop’s post in 1997 amid rumours of his closeness to young people, though he had not been charged at the time. He moved to Germany in 2002 and was expelled from the Catholic Church this past October.