In Bolivia, 3 Jesuit provincials indicted for covering up alleged abuse by deceased archbishop
August 16, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: The current Jesuit provincial and two former Jesuit provincials in Bolivia have been indicted for failing to disclose abuse allegations against Archbishop Alejandro Mestre Descals, SJ (1912-1988).
The Jesuit prelate, who was ordained a bishop in 1976, was accused of sexually abusing a minor twice in 1961. He resigned in 1987 at the age of 74.
In 2023, the nephew of a deceased openly gay Jesuit priest turned over his uncle’s diary to a leading Spanish newspaper; in the diary, the priest estimated that the number of his victims was 85. The revelation precipitated a crisis in the Church in Bolivia; the Jesuits soon announced that Archbishop Mestra had been accused of rape, and the Vatican sent an investigator.
Father Bernado Mercado, SJ, the indicted current provincial, said last year that he was ignorant of, and appalled by, the abuse allegations.
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