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Pope Francis at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 17, 2023. / Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 16, 2023 / 17:05 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has sent a letter to the president of Bolivia expressing “feelings of shame and dismay” and a firm promise to work with the government of the South American country to end clerical sexual abuse of minors.

The letter, released Friday according to the Associated Press but signed on May 31 and addressed to Bolivian President Luis Arce, is a response to another letter sent to the pontiff on May 22 by the South American president. The pope’s letter was made public on May 15 on the official Twitter account of the Bolivian president.

“Dear Mr. President: I have read your letter and I thank you for the clarity and deference with which you share with me your concern, outrage, and condemnation and that of the citizens of that beloved nation, due to the deplorable events that have affected and continue to affect individuals sexually abused by members of the Church,” the pope wrote at the beginning of his letter.

The pontiff then expressed his sorrow: “In the face of the tangle of evil caused by those who, betraying their mission as priests, pastors, and educators — and who, as you express — committed ‘crimes that harm boys and girls for life, and that also harm the Church,’ I express my sorrow and my feelings of shame and dismay.”

In April 2023, a scandal rocked the Church in Bolivia when a report in the Spanish newspaper El País exposed the late Jesuit Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno for having sexually abused as many as 85 minors during his ministry. This revelation led to reports of more cases of abuse committed by Jesuits and other religious congregations.

At another point in the letter, the pope revealed that he was “moved and shocked” when thinking “of the disastrous actions of those priests and also of the negligence of those who should have exercised oversight.”

The Holy Father noted that the “ministers of the Church must be ‘guardians’ and guarantors of the good and of the future of the young generations, and stand out for propagating the attitudes and sentiments that have characterized the presence of Jesus among men.”

“This problem continues to be one of the greatest challenges for the Church of our time,” the pope noted.

Pope Francis also expressed to Arce his “firm desire to respond with the full cooperation of the Church to work alongside the government of your country.”

“I ask the Lord to help us to generously fulfill our duty to repair injustices and to always be faithful to the task of protecting those who are so dear to Jesus,” the pontiff concluded.

For his part, Arce thanked the pope on Twitter for his response, “in which he shares our great concern, outrage, and condemnation of the cases of pedophilia” in the country.

In addition, the head of state insists on the need to “strengthen controls to prevent foreign priests with a history of sexual crimes from entering the country.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Church of the Society of Jesus in Cochabamba, Bolivia. / Credit: Archdiocese of Cochabamba

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 4, 2023 / 18:30 pm (CNA).
The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) described as “senseless” a lawsuit filed on Oct. 2 by a group of former st… […]

Mexico City, Mexico, Jun 19, 2019 / 12:06 am (CNA).- Catholic leaders in Mexico have spoken out against continuing violence in the country and called on governmental authorities to focus on ending the bloodshed and establishing stability and peace.

“In recent times, we have experienced situations of great violence, which have been a true Calvary for citizens and many families in various parts of the country, to which we see no end,” said Auxiliary Bishop Alfonso Miranda Guardiola of Monterrey, secretary general of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference in a June 13 statement.

On behalf of the Mexican bishops, he lamented the atmosphere of violence and fear, saying, “we are once again calling on the competent authorities to address this wave of insecurity which has been growing in our country.”

“To our faithful and society in general, we ask you to not be indifferent in face of the pain of others, and let us continue to build peace,” he added. “As a Church we pray and work incessantly for the reconstruction of the social fabric.”

In the past week, two university students have been killed in Mexico City, adding to the growing violence of recent months.

Official figures indicate that the first three months of 2019 were the most violent on record in Mexico. Of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world, 15 are located in Mexico, according to the Citizen Council on Public Safety and Criminal Justice.

The Catholic Multimedia Center, an organization that has been internationally recognized for its investigations into the violence against and murders of priests, lamented the continued bloodshed in the country.

“The cold statistics that swell the numbers of the fallen make us brutally face the reality that indicates to us that here it no longer matters who dies. That here it no longer matters why they die. That here it matters even less who the murderers are,” the center said in a recent post online.

The group criticized the Mexican authorities for their “ineptitude,” saying, “Thousands continue to die under the incompetent watch of those who swore to eradicate this pandemonium of grief and despair.”

If government officials are unable to restore peace in Mexico, they should resign, the Catholic Multimedia Center said.

“They should resign because they have allowed impunity to continue to feed hundreds of criminals who kill for a few coins, knowing that little will be done to capture them.”

The group pledged to “be the voice of the thousands who have fallen victim to this inhumane and irrational violence, to no longer ask but to demand the authorities stop the violence and the pain; that impunity and corruption be stopped, in short, that they get to work and if they can’t, they should resign.”

Bishop Miranda voiced prayers for all those affected by the ongoing violence.

“May Our Lady of Guadalupe, our mother, shelter us under her mantle, protect us from the darkness, guide our steps on the path of peace and help us to recognize each other as brothers,” he said.
 

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