Mexico City, Mexico, Jan 15, 2020 / 18:02 pm
The bishops' conference of Mexico has called on the country's government to get rid of the statute of limitations in cases of sexual abuse of minors.
"We want to ask in the name of the bishops of Mexico for there to be no expiration for this crime," Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera, president of the Mexican Bishops' Conference, said at a Tuesday press conference, according to the AP.
He added that the statute of limitations must be eliminated for cases of abuse of minors "since the wrong done lasts for the lifetime of the person who has been a victim."
The bishops said at the press conference that 271 priests have been investigated in the past decade for sexual abuse, and 155 of those cases have been brought to civil authorities, the AP reported. Last February, Cabrera said that 152 priests had been removed from ministry due to incidents of abuse.