Why would the Church hierarchy suggest this?

Chile's conservative president rejected a proposal by the Roman Catholic Church for sweeping pardons of elderly and sick prisoners that would have freed military officers convicted of human rights violations during the Pinochet dictatorship.

President Sebastian Pinera announced Sunday that he will only consider case-by-case pardons on humanitarian grounds and that serious offenses related to crimes against humanity, terrorism or drug trafficking will not be considered.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/25/chile-rejects-pardons-proposed-by-catholic-church/

Forgiveness and redemption are nice, but people were killed and "vanished" without a hint of due process (adults tortured then murdered and finally disposed of at sea, while their children were adopted out to military families without any records) during Augusto Pinochet's 1973-1990 dictatorship. The survivors still wonder where their children are buried, and what became of their grandchildren. Basic justice and fairness demand punishment. These are crimes which deserve imprisonment for more than a few years.

It seems that the hierarchy and the bureaucracy are the enemies of logic in every human organization.