He also reported that these cases are being investigated by a committee of prosecutors.
“The Public Prosecutor’s Office is receiving the complaints within the framework of the activation of the protection measures provided by the Public Prosecutor’s Office to witnesses and victims, in such a way that they can give their testimony and their statement within the scope of protection established by the law,” Lanchipa explained.
The official stated that among the accused are Pedrajas, Roma, Mestre, Antonio Gausset, and other priests.
“We are concerned about the negligence of the Catholic organization for not reporting the incidents in a timely manner and providing cover-up or a kind of protection for all these aberrant incidents that happened in our country,” the attorney general emphasized.
“For decades there have been rapes of our minors, children, adolescents and the necessary protection has not been made, much less has the complaint been made public,” he added.
Pedro Fuentes, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of La Paz, said May 14 that “it’s terrible that a member of the Church has given free rein to his sickness, because it is a sickness and it is a crime, and it pains us. It’s not enough to ask for forgiveness, we know. It is necessary to act with justice and the Church is always open to act with justice.”
The prelate described the abuses as a “terrible crime” and assured that the “Church is always open to acting with transparency and justice, especially in cases of crimes committed by members of the Church.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Diego Lopez Marina has a degree in Communication Sciences with a specialization in journalism from the University of San Martín de Porres (Peru). He began his professional career in 2015, as an editor for the Journalistic Archive area of the Diario El Comercio. In 2016 he began working as an writer for ACI Prensa and since 2018 he has been working as a web editor.