Chile archbishop defends himself as pope's summit opens

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The retired archbishop of Santiago is denying he covered-up for an abusive priest in Chile, but is acknowledging the priest's popularity and ability to produce seminarians weighed on his decision-making.

Cardinal Javier Errazuriz wrote a letter May 10 to his fellow bishops defending his handling of the case at the center of Chile's sex abuse and cover-up scandal. That scandal is at the heart of an emergency summit between Pope Francis and 34 bishops that begins Tuesday to try to map a recovery strategy from the crisis that has discredited the Chilean church and tarnished Francis' own reputation.