The Bolivian Catholic Church on Wednesday admitted having been "deaf" to the suffering of victims of pedophile priests amid a fresh scandal over the alleged abuse of dozens of children.
Bolivia has been shocked by revelations that have emerged since confessions of abuse were found in the personal diary of a Spanish priest who died of cancer in Bolivia in 2009 after decades of service there.
In the journal, which he kept on a laptop, Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas wrote he had done "harm to many people... too many," with the number 85 and a question mark.
He also noted that senior clergy had known about his crimes and kept quiet.
Pedrajas arrived in Bolivia in 1971 and worked as a teacher in various parts of the country.
Most of the alleged abuses were committed at the Juan XXIII boarding school for poor, rural children in Cochabamba in the center of the country.
A family member had given the priest's diary to the El Pais newspaper in Spain, which published the revelations last month.
This gave rise to Bolivian prosecutors opening at least eight cases against priests including Pedrajas and three others from Spain: Luis Maria Roma, Alejandro Mestre and Antonio Gausset.
All four are deceased, but there are other accused still alive.
Giovani Arana, secretary general of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, said in a statement Wednesday that "instead of giving them the protection and care they deserved, (the victims) met a Church deaf to their suffering."
He added: "We have been part, directly or indirectly, of a deep pain caused to innocent people who have been victims of sexual abuse."
On Monday, Bolivian President Luis Arce wrote to Pope Francis to ask for any files on sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests in the South American country.
Arana said Spanish priest Jordi Bertomeu, a top sex crimes investigator for the pope, has arrived in Bolivia to look into the matter.
But Hilarion Baldiviezo, head of an association of former pupils of Juan XXIII, said Wednesday the Church "cannot be judge and accused" in the matter.
