EL PAÍS launched in 2018 an investigation of pedophilia in the Spanish Church and has an updated database with all known cases. If you know of any case that has not seen the light, you can write to: abusos@elpais.es. If it is a case in Latin America, the address is: abusosamerica@elpais.es.
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The heart of Bolivia's Jesuits pumps its blood from a small block on Genaro Sanjines Street, one of those steep streets in downtown La Paz. Inside, under a dim light, awaits his provincial, the priest Bernardo Mercado. He is 41 years old, bearded, glasses and does not wear collars. "The low light is because of the bills. We can't afford to pay much," he says. He moves with rigid movements, speaks soberly. Over the past two weeks, Mercado has had to deal with the biggest abuse scandal in the history of the congregation he leads. It all began with the publication of the secret diary of the Spanish Jesuit Alfonso Pedrajas, who died in 2009, in which he admitted how he abused dozens of minors in several schools of the order in Bolivia and also how his superiors, Mercado's predecessors, covered it up for decades. His decision was quick and unusual in the ecclesial hierarchy: to suspend as a precautionary measure all the former provincials who were still alive and who could have covered up those crimes. He wasn't the only one to step forward. The Bolivian attorney general's office launched an investigation and, last week, President Luis Arce presented a draft law to make pedophilia crimes imprescriptible and to create a truth commission to investigate these cases of the past. Now, in the midst of the media hurricane, Mercado offers an interview to EL PAÍS, where he promises to be blunt with each case.
Question. What did you think about after hearing the news of Alfonso Pedrajas' abuses?
Answer. First, in the magnitude of the crime that was described and in the victims. What I least thought about was all the consequences at the level of public opinion. I thought of the victims immediately. To say: a lord from the other continent comes, he is received so well, all the doors are opened to him and he commits these atrocities, registers them and keeps them outside the Society of Jesus. Then the image of a monster comes to you.
But Pedrajas did not keep his crimes apart from the Company, in the newspaper he quotes that he spoke about it with several of his provincials.
R. That the superiors and everyone knew? That is what the research that is ongoing will determine, the degree of participation.
Q. The first measure he took was to remove these provincials as a precautionary measure.
A. The first thing I did was apologize to the victims, knowing that this was insufficient. What is asking for forgiveness if it is not accompanied by works? And that's when I decide to suspend absolutely all the ex-provincials who are alive, those who were in the time of Alfonso Pedrajas and the later ones. With what eagerness? With the aim of clarifying these crimes.
Q. What was it like to take that action? Did you consult with anyone?
A.I consulted with the employees closest to the company's government and they respected and supported my decision. It is the least we could do if we really wanted to contribute to the investigations. We continue in conscience, as appropriate.
Q. Has there been any discomfort within the Jesuits about such a drastic action?
A. No. The Bolivian Society of Jesus positioned itself with great nobility.
Q. Pedrajas was Spanish, although he became a Jesuit in Bolivia. But there are more cases of Spaniards who were transferred to their country after having committed abuses. ¿ What responsibility does the Society of Jesus have in Spain?
A. There is an institutional responsibility, obviously. What was the way to proceed? Why did they proceed that way? Under what conditions were they shipped from there and under what conditions did they reside here? It is what the investigations have to give us as a result.
Q. Do you plan to open your files for justice to investigate?
A. Everything they request will be delivered to them. This has been the case since day one and no one can say that the information they asked for was not provided. In this sense, it is the most we can do at this time: provide material so that the authorities can work and dictate the results of their investigation.
Q. But not only in the Pedrajas case, will the file open to the authorities if they want to investigate all the cases that have not come to light?
A. Of course, this is always subject to research. I doubt the secret files very much. We have seen that the real secret files are kept by criminals.
Q. Do you think there are more cases of abuse that have been covered up within the Society of Jesus of Bolivia or in the Bolivian Church in general?
A. Look, I'm going to be honest. After what we are seeing these days, I leave all possibilities open.
Q. Is the Society of Jesus of Bolivia going to initiate a general investigation into all cases of pedophilia in the past, similar to that done by other orders or the Churches of other countries such as France, Germany or currently Spain?
A. Yes. I have it contemplated and we will have to do it with people who really have the will to clarify these cases and have the delicacy to handle it with total responsibility. It is a step that must be done, that takes time. But it has to be done and when the results are available, they must be brought to the attention of public opinion.
Q. Do you plan in the future to meet personally with victims to ask for forgiveness?
A. Evidently. As long as the victims want to look me in the face. I have the doors open to welcome these victims and to be able to talk.
Q. Do you think that the Pedrajas case can be a turning point on cases of pedophilia in the Church? A light for those victims who have so far not found justice or have not been able to tell their case?
A. There has to be a light and the last thing that can disappear is hope. And we have to learn from the victims. For me it is a time of purification, of pruning. It may seem that the tree is leafy and wonderful, but it is time to cut down everything that does so much harm to the Society of Jesus and the Church. And the pruner has come by other means, when we should have thought [before] how we did our pruning. [We must] Rethinking the Society of Jesus. That we will be less, we will be, but that it is to give life and not death, as we are living these days with these crimes.
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