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Chilean Cardinal Javier Errazuriz has gone before a local prosecutor to testify as a defendant as part of an investigation into the country's sprawling sex abuse and cover-up scandal.

Pope Francis removed Errazuriz last year from his informal Cabinet after he became embroiled in the Catholic Church's scandal. Errazuriz is accused of covering up clerical abuse in at least 10 cases.

The 85-year old cardinal walked into the prosecutor's office in Santiago on Thursday with the help of a cane. He looked visibly upset and declined to speak to reporters.

He has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Chilean abuse survivors have long accused Errazuriz and his successor in the Chilean capital, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, of protecting predator priests and discrediting victims.

Francis replaced Ezzati on Saturday.