May 17, 2023, 0:30 AM
May 17, 2023, 0:30 AM
Pedro Lima, a former Jesuit, arrived in Santa Cruz this afternoon from the capital of Paraguay to denounce 11 priests of the Society of Jesus in Bolivia, for pedophilia and concealment of this crime. He said he had strong evidence against these priests and that there are several victims who will present their complaints in the next few hours.
“After traveling 21 hours, I arrived in Santa Cruz from Asunción. D.I quit my job and sold some things to be able to collect economic resources and come to denounce these cases so that the accused are punished and thus prevent more victims of abuse”, he told the media.
Lima said that only He arrived in the country with a backpack and will stay as long as necessary. “A few weeks, a month, a year, I will be there as long as it is enough and I will look for work to support myself while the process lasts, because I also have to support my family that is in Paraguay, but for security reasons I will not say what exact area it is in,” commented.
Pedro Lima publicly denounced 11 priests of the Society of Jesus in Bolivia in an interview on Red Bolivisión, among them is the renowned Jesuit Francisco P., who took over as national director of a major educational initiative.
According to the former Jesuit, this priest knew of sexual abuse committed against minors of age and knew who were the priests who committed this crime, but decided to cover everything up without denouncing the Police.
Another accused is Father Alfonso Pedrajas (deceased), alias ‘Pica’, who he would have abused 85 children according to what he told in his personal diary, which was published by the newspaper El País of Spain. “He was a close friend of ‘Pica’ and he always covered it up,” he explained.
Lima recounted that ‘Pica’ was the first Jesuit he met in 1992 when he entered the novitiate, as this was his Ethics and Morals teacher, and at that time he believed he was an exemplary priest. However, later he found out about the sexual abuse that he committed against men, minors, and He denounced it before the Church, but the case did not advance.
“With ‘Pica’ I have the worst and sad memories of my novitiate, because he He said that when you commit (sexual) abuse or pedophilia, it was enough to confess to God to be forgiven and that it was not necessary to denounce the justice”, he commented indignantly.
The third accused is Francesc Peris, alias ‘Chesco’, whom “the Society of Jesus in Bolivia he is protecting because he does not say if he is alive or deadeither”, Lima points out and adds that he abused the students of a Catholic school. “‘Chesco’ abused the girls and ‘Pica’ the boys,” laments the complainant.
Father Carlos Villamil, who died this year and is known as ‘Vicu’, is another of those denounced. The former Bolivian Jesuit who arrived from Paraguay says that “Vicu” was his parish priest in a church in Cochabamba and at that time he thought he was an exemplary person and spoke well of him until he found out about the abuses he was committing.
“I used to give spiritual retreats and I was setting Father ‘Vicu’ as an example until I see a person cry and I go up to him to ask what was wrong and he tells me that this priest abused a relative of his. For this case and others ‘Vicu’ has complaints before the courts, but the Society of Jesus in Bolivia says that there were no criminal complaints”, he lamented.
Luis María Roma Padrosa is the fifth priest accused by Lima. “Roma abused humble Guarani children in Charagua and he took photos of his violations, which were presented as evidence in the complaint that was made in the Church, but despite that he died with great tributes in Cochabamba, as one of the best Jesuits”, he questioned.
Lima says that Father Roma was investigated by the Society of Jesus in Bolivia and that in the conclusion of his case it was determined that there is “likelihood” in the evidence presented against you, but nothing more was done, because those who investigated him were his own Jesuit friends.
The sixth defendant is the deceased Jesuit Antonio GC According to Lima, this priest could not even walk due to his old age, but her friendsthey sent children to take care of him and he used to abuse them at night.
“In those years, he was a chaplain of the Supreme Court of Justice, I had friends with prosecutors and judges from all over the countrythat is, he manipulated justice at will and I could not criminally denounce him for fear that they would blame me, since he had already threatened to expel me from the Jesuits ”, he lamented.
In addition, Lima denounces Father Alejandro M., but says he does not have sufficient evidence against him, as he has against the aforementioned Jesuits. However, he clarifies that he knows indirectly, that He committed several abuses to minors.
Marcos R., is the eighth priest accused by Lima, whom he points out being the main concealer of pedophilia casessince it indicates that he became the second man, worldwide, who was in charge of the Society of Jesus and that from the Vatican, Rome, appointed Father Alfonlso Pedrajas, ‘Pica’, as the second person in charge of the Jesuits in Bolivia.
“Marcos R. is the main concealer and he is alive in a Church house in Cochabamba. He covered up for his friend ‘Pica’ by putting him in a position where he had access to all the complaints against him. It was thus that ‘Pica’, before dying, destroyed all the complaints that the Church had received against him”, he pointed out.
Apart from being the ninth accused pedophilia priest, Oscar UF is the man who expelled from the order Jesuit to Pedro Lima, because he made constant complaints against his colleagues who raped minors.
“I am a former Jesuit with vows, although they (Society of Jesus in Bolivia) say that it was only a novitiate. It was Oscar UF, one of Father ‘Pica’s boyfriends, who he expelled me for speaking ill of the Jesuits and he reproached me saying that he was going to crush me and other irreproducible words, ”he recalled.
Ramón A., is the tenth on the list of priests accused of cover-up and pedophilia. Lima says that he was a director in schools in La Paz and that he covered up for his abusive friends. “For denouncing several cases, told me that dirty laundry is washed inside of the Church and do not speak ill of the Jesuits”, he lamented.
The Spanish Luis T., is the last accused of Lima and questions the Society of Jesus in Bolivia for putting him as a parish priest in La Paz so that he can interact with children, despite the fact that he had been sentenced by Bolivian justice.
“The Society of Jesus denies that it related him to minors, but he was appointed parish priest and taught catechism. I witnessed the abuses he committed against Aymara children,” lament.
Pedro Lima says he has received death threats for the denunciations that he has made and admits that he is afraid, but comments that he returned to Bolivia so that these events “do not remain in impunity, so that the accessories after the fact are punished, so that the victims are compensated and to avoid their repetition the abuses”.
Furthermore, it says that he left the country in 2012 because he suffered persecution by some leaders of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) party, because he had been a member of the Cochabamba assembly at that time.
Lima says that in Paraguay he was working as a teacher and locksmith and that “he returned as a former Jesuit” to denounce all cases of pedophilia because he believes that today justice will be more impartial, unlike previous years where “the Jesuits had prosecutors and judges friends and could manipulate justice in their favor.”
It also points out that has a CD with evidence of the complaints that he carried out and that there are victims who will denounce the humiliation they suffered before the Prosecutor’s Office. He also points out that he will appear on Wednesday at the Santa Cruz Prosecutor’s Office to testify as a witness and that he later plans to do the same in La Paz and Cochabamba.
Indicates that does not believe in the current administration of the Society of Jesus in Bolivia, since he knows that a colleague of his recently filed a complaint for pedophilia, but the case did not advance and was filed.
