A top investigator for the pope has arrived in Bolivia amid a growing pedophilia scandal. Spanish priest Jordi Bertomeu is on a mission to review the Church's handling of allegations.

His trip follows the publication of a diary by Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas Moreno, who confessed to abusing scores of students in schools that he ran in Bolivia.

Catholicism in Bolivia

As the world's most populated Catholic nation, Bolivia is a unique case study on the relationship between the church and human rights. Here, the church has progressively integrated the discourse on specific issues—such as indigenous rights and economic, social, and cultural rights—into its theological and religious framework despite internal and external resistance.

According to a 2015 report by the country's ombudsman office, 23 percent of children in Bolivia suffer some form of sexual abuse before reaching age 18. And on average, 12 children are abused every day.

In this context, the pedophilia scandal has resonated strongly in Bolivia, where many are still recovering from a series of accusations against members of the clergy. A recent publication of excerpts from a private diary of a late Spanish Jesuit priest, Alfonso Pedrajas, led to the suspension of several members of the clergy and a probe into allegations that he sexually abused dozens of children in schools he ran in Bolivia.

For these reasons, the Church's political stance has been cautious in Bolivia, and even though the church hierarchy has acknowledged that society needs reforms, it has not identified with specific movements or parties. This caution was evident when the Church responded to ISAL-Bolivia, a local Catholic party that promoted the idea that capitalism had contaminated the church. The bishops said ISAL's ideology was not the Church's and that they would be unable to endorse it.

Pedophilia Scandal

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) -- Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Bolivia acknowledged Wednesday that the church had been "deaf to the suffering" of victims of sexual abuse. They were commenting as a pedophilia scandal involving priests rocked the Andean nation. The scandal grew out of confessions that a late Spanish Jesuit priest recorded in his personal diary. In it, Alfonso Pedrajas wrote that he had abused dozens of children at the schools he ran in Bolivia. Pedrajas died in 2009 after decades of service there.

Those confessions prompted new accusations of abuse and a legal investigation. Some 200 people have now come forward to say they suffered abuse in the Jesuit-run schools. The prosecutor's office has opened an investigation -- which remains confidential -- and is asking the victims to testify. New cases have been uncovered, and one priest was sent to pre-trial detention for three months earlier this month.

A top Vatican investigator landed in Bolivia this week. Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu is one of the pope's most trusted sex crimes investigators. He is coming to help a local investigation and to listen to victims, the Bolivian Episcopal Conference said. But it added that his trip was not directly related to the sex abuse scandal. He is part of a larger group that's looking at how the Church handles allegations of abuse and at ways to hold church officials more accountable.

Cases of Sexual Abuse

Survivors of sexual violence face many obstacles to justice in Bolivia, including the lack of a legal definition of consent. The legal system also requires victims to prove physical or psychological violence and intimidation, which discourages the vast majority of survivors who choose to report their cases from even seeking justice.

Earlier this year, the pope sent one of his top sex crimes investigators to Bolivia to help tackle abuse allegations involving Church officials. Msgr Jordi Bertomeu, a member of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, arrived shortly after the death of a Jesuit priest who allegedly abused 85 children in his boarding schools. His diary, published by a Spanish newspaper, contained multiple confessions of pedophilia and alleged that Church officials knew about his alleged abuse but did nothing.

The Society of Jesus apologized to the victims and promised to support a police investigation while reporting Pedrajas' superiors — who are now no longer in office or have died — for an alleged cover-up. The Jesuits say Bertomeu's visit is not related to those events, but he will examine how the Society of Jesus handles cases of sexual abuse and how it responds to claims of abuse by its members.

But Quast says that, despite these commitments, the systemic barriers that Brisa faced 18 years ago remain in place today. She says that more needs to be done to ensure Bolivia's laws are in line with international standards, especially in terms of ensuring that all victims can receive the care they need. She also calls for mandatory training of law enforcement, judicial and medical personnel to dispel widespread stereotypes about women and their sexual behavior.

Protests

The church acknowledged the pain of abuse victims and promised to make changes. In a statement, the Bolivian bishops said they would set up commissions to "determine responsibilities" and provide updates. They also pledged to help a transparent investigation by the justice system.

Jordi Bertomeu, a top sex crimes investigator for the pope, arrived in the country Monday to investigate accusations of sexual abuse by priests. Bolivian President Luis Arce sent the Vatican a letter asking for any files on abuse. The country's attorney general has also launched an investigation into multiple accusations of abuse.

The case centers on the late Spanish Jesuit Alfonso Pedrajas, who allegedly abused dozens of minors in Catholic boarding schools in the 1970s and 1980s. According to a diary accessed by the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Pedrajas reported his abuse to superiors but they did not act.

The Society of Jesus in Bolivia apologized to the victims and promised to support the investigation while denouncing Pedrajas' superiors for an alleged cover-up. Many of the people singled out are no longer in office or have died. Activists say the church needs to change. They are angry that the church waited so long to respond to complaints and that church officials have not taken action against those responsible for the abuse. They want a full investigation by authorities and punishment for those involved.