The nephew who uncovered the diary of the pedophile priest: "The silence of the Church is unfortunate, it had known about the abuse for decades"

EL PAÍS launched an investigation into pedophilia in the Spanish Church in 2018 and has 

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What seemed like a common cardboard box changed the life of Fernando Pedrajas.

Everything happened in the middle of the pandemic, at the beginning of 2021, during the days before the great snowfall that would dye Madrid white.

Months before, Fernando's mother had died and he had gone to the family home that had been left empty to put everything in order and put it up for rent.

She went down to the storage room and, hidden among other belongings, found a box covered in dust and with the word "PICA" written on one of its faces.

They were the things of her uncle, the priest Alfonso Pedrajas, known to all as

, a Jesuit and missionary in Bolivia who died of cancer in 2009. Inside were the few things belonging to the religious that had arrived from the Andean country: the passport, some books, a handful of photographs and a green filing cabinet that seemed to contain the his uncle's diary

The file's title, typed on the first page, was

This is the beginning of the inside story of the case of abuse that has shaken Bolivia this week.

In that document, Pica admitted that he had abused dozens of minors while he was a teacher in various schools of the order in Bolivia, where he lived between 1960 and 2009. He also tells how he confessed it to his superiors and the order covered it up.

EL PAÍS received the newspaper from Fernando and published his story last Sunday, with the account of victims and relatives.

48 hours later, the Andean country's attorney general has opened an investigation, the Jesuits have removed eight former high-ranking officials from the order, and the Bolivian Church has apologized.

In Spain, the country where Pica was born and to which he traveled frequently, the Episcopal Conference has responded with a sentence to the questions of EL PAÍS:

The nephew of the pedophile priest agrees to an interview to tell how everything happened.

Ask.

What did she feel when she read the newspaper?

Answer.

I was late in doing it.

When I found it I saw that it was something worth reading, but it stayed there.

Months later, when I emptied the house to rent it out, I started reading it.

At first I enjoyed it, because in the first pages my uncle narrates how he travels hundreds of kilometers through Bolivia to give mass and help the poor.

It seemed pretty to me.

But when I got deeper, I found out that Pica was a pedophile and that the order protected him.

I felt fear, disgust.

I was disappointed, an absolute disagreement.

Q.

What relationship did you have with him?

R.

I always felt that we had a certain connection.

She had some artistic gifts with which in a way I identified.

I think he lived it the same way.

I started playing the guitar when he was 10 years old.

Pica was one of my first teachers.

Q.

What happened when you told everything to the rest of the family?

R.

I was late too.

I had to digest all that information.

It took me a while to assimilate it.

In February 2022, I sent an email to all my family and sent them the diary.

I received few responses.

The support I have had, unfortunately, I can count on the fingers of one hand.

I think they prefer to look the other way.

Q.

What did you do next?

R.

I was very clear that I had to do two things: one, put everything in the hands of the authorities;

and two, go to the press.

I wrote the same

in which I outlined the story and sent it, equally, to the current director of the Juan XXIII school [center where more Pica victims have appeared], Luis Carrasco;

to the board of J23, the alumni association of this school;

to all the organizations dedicated to the protection of victims of child abuse that I managed to find on Google and to the main media.

Q.

What were the responses?

R.

Regarding the media, there were many, but I wanted EL PAÍS to investigate it.

They were investigating the issue in depth and it was also a newspaper with a presence in Latin America.

The first person who contacted me from Bolivia was Luis Carrasco, current director of the school.

He told me that he did not know anything about this story and therefore he was not in a position to help.

Through this man, the Jesuits contacted me, specifically, a Jesuit priest named Osvaldo Chirveches, ex-provincial and director of the order's safe environments delegation.

Q.

How was that communication?

R.

He asked me to have a meeting and I agreed.

But I replied in an email that I would like Carrasco to also attend, in a copy in the same message.

And he replied that, since he did not have internet, he could not.

He replied to me by

.

That was the last communication from the principal of the school where my uncle abused countless children.

At this point I decided to divulge all this.

Q.

But you did not continue in communication with the Jesuits?

A.

Yes, Chirveches was very insistent that I send him the diary.

But I did not trust.

Q.

And the Spanish ecclesiastical authorities?

R.

I decided to take the complaint to the Archdiocese of Madrid, where I live.

But, to this day, I have not been able to give them the document.

I have gone about five times and I have not even been able to identify the person who had to attend me to collect the document.

After leaving my data, telephone,

and nobody called me, I have given up that route.

Unpresentable.

Q.

What happened to the former students?

R.

I offered the newspaper to the alumni association in case they wanted to use it to file a complaint in Bolivia, but if they wanted it to spread it, they preferred that the press do it first.

For me, it was essential that all the information published had been previously verified.

At that time they did not accept and decided not to report.

I continued to speak with them in a very cordial way and they were always very cooperative.

And, of course, they will have the diary immediately.

It belongs to you and you should read it.

Q.

Did they help you locate victims?

R.

Yes. The victims have been key to everything moving forward.

To them, and to those I have not met, I would like to say that I am very sorry that they had to go through such a terrible situation, which I cannot even imagine.

But also that they are not alone.

P.

He took the case to the Prosecutor's Office

R.

Yes, but it was archived.

My uncle is dead and it is evident that he is prescribed.

A victim testified from Bolivia, although the alumni association, as an entity, decided not to support her.

But I am going to try to reopen the complaint so that the people who knew about the abuses committed by Pica and covered it up are judged.

Now, my intention is to create a group of victims who support a general complaint to present it here in Spain.

Even if they are anonymous.

I know the identity of many of the victims who have not yet spoken out.

To them I say: many of you hold important positions within the public administration in Bolivia.

Your collaboration is important.

I encourage you to send me an

to the following address: asociacionvictimasj23@gmail.com.

Is the moment to act.

Q.

The diary is also a story about the cover-up.

R.

It is the most alarming of all.

I don't even know what to call it how disgusting it is.

They cannot hide behind the secret of confession.

Marco Recolons [the only concealer who spoke to EL PAÍS] must be tried.

And if it is shown that he had knowledge [of the abuses], he has to bear the consequences.

The silence of the Church is lamentable.

She had known for decades about the abuses committed by Pica and other Jesuits.

She covered it up with lies and continues to lie about the case.

Q.

Are they still lying?

R.

Yes. They received more complaints of abuse, from Pica and other priests.

Q.

What do you think about the reactions after the publication of the report?

R.

There is one thing that seems totally significant to me.

The Jesuits have removed eight people from office in 48 hours, something that has never happened with such diligence.

It is further evidence that they were aware of the situation.

This measure has occurred due to the publication, which fortunately has also had a surprising impact on the Bolivian media and institutions.

Q.

What are you waiting for now?

A.

We look at the tip of the iceberg.

Let's hope that, at least, those involved who covered up all this and are still alive are duly tried and convicted.

And that on the part of the Catholic Church there be compensation for the victims.

Q.

Many see the step you have taken as an anomalous and courageous act, deliberately tarnishing the name of a relative of yours.

R.

For me it is not an act of courage.

I believe that the relatives of the aggressors must take a step forward.

Denounce without a doubt.

There is no room for equidistance on this path.

You are with the victims or you are with the pedophile, or your behavior is denounced or you cover it up.

There are no nuances.

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