2023-05-28 22:02:00
May 28, 2023 / 3:02 p.m
Mons. Giovani Arana, Bishop of El Alto and Secretary General of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, pointed out this Pentecost Sunday that, although the Church in the country has apologized to the victims and relatives, “we know that it is not enough.”
“These weeks we have witnessed that abuse of minors has been committed within the Church. We have asked for forgiveness, we know that it is not enough, that is why we must all commit ourselves to do everything in our power to prevent such terrible acts from being repeated or from remaining unpunished, ”he indicated during his homily of May 28.
According to the Prelate, the bishops “must work together from what we have to do, to create healthy and safe environments for children, adolescents, young people and all vulnerable people.”
“And I say ‘work together’ because the fight against sexual abuse entails a profound change in each one of us to always be attentive to any danger that children, young people or vulnerable people may run”, he highlighted.
At the end of April, an unprecedented sexual abuse scandal rocked the Catholic Church in Bolivia, after a report in the newspaper El País accused the Jesuit Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, who died in 2009, of having committed abuses against minors during his ministry.
As a result of the investigation, numerous cases of abuse in the Society of Jesus and other congregations came to light. The State Attorney General informed the country that, until May 18, 2023, there were some 23 priests implicated in cases of abuse in the country.
In his homily this Sunday, Bishop Arana indicated that the bishops have committed to taking “actions to support the victims, listening to them and accompanying them, trying to help them rebuild their lives, knowing that abuse causes very deep wounds.”
“Furthermore, we commit ourselves to denounce and investigate the facts and seek that justice is done both within the Church and in civil society with a determined commitment to work in the prevention and protection of minors,” he said.
At another time, the Prelate explained that the serious crime of sexual abuse is a threat that “we must all face, because also, and we say it with regret, this scourge not only occurs within the Church, but also in different areas of our society. ”.
“These actions are far from the behavior of that Holy Spirit who seeks the good of all, the common good, which is why it is also necessary today to ask for that presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives,” he said on the day the Church celebrates Pentecost.
Bishop Arana invited to ask God “that the coming of the Holy Spirit means for all of us as Bolivians having the courage to defend and accompany the victims of all forms of violence, especially sexual, and seek justice.”
“The presence of the Holy Spirit allows us to get out of our selfishness and personal interests to think of others, to work for the good of others and not for our own benefit,” he recalled.
“It is necessary to ask today for that presence in our lives of the Holy Spirit, who, as we have heard, we ask: ‘soften our harshness, eliminate our coldness with your warmth, correct our deviations,'” he concluded.
Diego López Marina is a communicator and journalist by profession. He has been part of ACI Prensa since 2016 and currently works as one of the agency’s web editors.
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