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Bolivia's Catholic Church acknowledges being 'deaf' to sex abuse victims
Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Bolivia are acknowledging that the institution has been deaf to the suffering of victims of sexual abuse at a time when the country has been rocked by a pedophilia scandal involving priests
By CARLOS VALDEZ Associated Press
May 24, 2023, 8:50 PM
LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Bolivia acknowledged Wednesday that the church had been deaf to the suffering of victims of sexual abuse, commenting as a pedophilia scandal involving priests is rocking the country.
In a statement, the Andean nation’s Catholic bishops said that “as a church, we are facing a painful moment ... because we are certain that we have been directly or indirectly involved in the deep pain caused to innocent victims.”
The statement comes amid the fallout from the case involving a late Spanish Jesuit priest, Alfonso Pedrajas. According to a private diary accessed by the Spanish newspaper El País, Pedrajas allegedly abused dozens of minors in Catholic boarding schools in Bolivia in the 1970s and 1980s. He died of cancer in 2009.
Earlier this week, Jordi Bertemeu, one of the Vatican’s top sex crimes investigators, arrived in Bolivia. The bishops said that while “we know there is no way to compensate for the damage caused, we are committed to do everything possible to … seek a reparation, with the support of professionals who provide assistance and help heal wounds and scars.”
More:
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bolivias-catholic-church-acknowledges-deaf-sex-abuse-victims-99589468
