2023-05-04 21:15:00
May 4, 2023 / 2:15 p.m
Faced with a journalistic investigation that reveals abuses committed by a deceased Jesuit, the Bolivian Episcopal Conference (CEB) reiterated its commitment to “zero tolerance.”
With the title “Diary of a pedophile priest”, the investigation by the newspaper El País details that, while he was in Bolivia, the Spanish Jesuit Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, who died in 2008, committed abuses of minors and recorded them in a newspaper.
According to the Spanish media, the priest would have commented on what happened to at least seven superiors of the Order and ten members of the clergy, for which the Society of Jesus announced that it will initiate an investigation and has suspended several of its members.
Through a statement, the Bolivian bishops spoke on Wednesday, May 3, about what happened.
“The Catholic Church, since Pope Francis, has committed ‘zero tolerance’ towards the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people,” they recall.
They also underline the commitment to “work resolutely in prevention” by creating safe environments inside and outside the Church.
While condemning these actions, they send their solidarity to the victims who have suffered acts of sexual abuse.
“We ask for your forgiveness, and we tell you that we share your suffering and disappointment over these serious events that have marked your lives and have caused deep pain,” they say.
Likewise, they guarantee their support, listening and accompaniment.
On the other hand, the CEB clarifies that “the canonical regulations of the Catholic Church do not replace the civil regulations of the State”, so they ensure their cooperation in the investigation.
The complaints, the bishops clarify, are investigated by the Vatican’s Department for the Doctrine of the Faith, through the instance to which the accused belongs; in this case, the Society of Jesus.
Even so, they pledged their trades “so that the investigation is carried out within the framework of transparency and impartiality” and hoped that the issue “would not be politicized.”
Finally, they prayed that Our Lady “intercede for all the victims who suffer violence” and asked her “to help us, each one of us, not to lose sensitivity towards all those who suffer this and other types of abuse.”
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