Sexual Abuse Victims Accuse Spanish Jesuits Of Cover-ups In Bolivia

For decades, Bolivia served as the destination to which Jesuit priests accused of sexual abuse in Catalonia were sent—a practice that victims describe as an organized system designed to conceal crimes and evade justice. This is the contention of the Bolivian Community of Survivors (CBS), which has called upon the Parliament of Catalonia and the *Síndic de Greuges* (Catalan Ombudsman) to launch an institutional investigation.

The report, recently presented by the victims' association, traces the origins of what they consider to be the largest pedophilia scandal in Latin America back to the Tarraconense Province of the Society of Jesus; the case involves some twenty identified perpetrators and nearly a thousand victims in Bolivia.

A System of Transfers to Evade Justice

As explained by jurist Alejandro Klock—a representative for the victims—in statements reported by the EFE news agency, the abuse "originated" in Catalonia, which had served as the "mother" province for the Bolivian mission since the mid-20th century.

The alleged pattern is a recurring one: whenever a priest was accused of—or caught—abusing minors in Catalan schools, his superiors chose to transfer him to Bolivia rather than report him to the authorities.

Once there—far removed from the scrutiny of the European judicial system—these clerics continued their work in particularly vulnerable environments. According to the victims, minors in unprotected circumstances were left exposed to further abuse for years on end.

"The primary aggrieved party here is Bolivia; they created a criminal system that was allowed to perpetuate itself for decades," stated Klock, in comments reported by Swissinfo.

The victims have encapsulated this practice with an expression as harsh as it is revealing: Bolivia was turned into a “dumping ground for pedophiles.”

From the Pedrajas Diaries to a Broader Conspiracy

The case took on an international dimension following an investigation published by *El País* in 2023 regarding the diaries of Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas, in which he confessed to abusing at least 85 minors over the course of years while his superiors protected him.

From that moment on, new information and internal documents began to surface, revealing that this was not an isolated case. The Bolivian Public Prosecutor's Office then launched an unprecedented investigation, which led to the prosecution of order officials for cover-ups.

The CBS report—compiled after years of gathering evidence—includes internal letters, canonical rulings, and documentation suggesting that the Society had been aware of the abuses for decades and had received directives from Spain and Rome to handle them without involving the justice system.
Names, Evidence, and Prolonged Cover-ups
Among the documented cases are priests transferred from Catalonia following prior allegations—such as Francesc Peris and Lluís Tó—as well as others directly implicated in Bolivia.

Particularly grave is the case of Lucho Roma, who abused more than 70 indigenous girls between 1994 and 2005. As revealed by an investigation by *El País*, the order went so far as to conduct an internal inquiry into the events and seize diaries and visual material, yet chose not to refer the matter to the justice system for years.

The victims allege that these cover-ups are not merely a relic of the past, but have persisted into recent times, with those responsible having faced no criminal prosecution.

International Responsibility and Institutional Pressure

The report asserts that the Tarraconense Province exercised total control—administrative, hierarchical, and financial—over the mission in Bolivia, thereby reinforcing the argument for structural responsibility regarding the events in question.

Furthermore, the victims denounce the lack of cooperation from ecclesiastical authorities and the absence of effective redress, despite the internal acknowledgment of many of the cases.

In this context, they have requested that the Parliament of Catalonia establish an investigative commission, and have called upon the *Síndic de Greuges* (Ombudsman) to clarify how such a system was allowed to persist for decades.

“Catalonia must understand that what is being investigated here are not isolated incidents, but rather the origins of the largest case of institutional pedophilia in Latin America,” stated Klock, as reported by *El País*.

While convictions for cover-ups have already been handed down in Bolivia against former Jesuit officials, in Spain, institutional responsibility remains—for the time being—unresolved.