Colombian cardinal acknowledges that the Church covers cases of pedophilia

At a meeting in the Vatican, the cardinal and archbishop of Bogota, Ruben Salazar, acknowledged that the church in Colombia had covered cases of pedophilia in order to protect the image of the institution and to preserve the rights of the accused priests. He even mentioned that the silence of the victims had been bought with money.

"The protection of the inalienable rights of potential perpetrators has always been and must be a concern, and more often still, it is the fear of violating these rights that has led to actions that could later have been characterized as concealment or complicity ". Said Salazar, quote The w.

He mentioned the right to enjoy a good reputation, to exercise his ministry and to "continue to live a normal life", but he admitted that this should not take precedence over the rights of victims who, being the children, are the weakest and the most vulnerable.

"There is no doubt that in many cases the victims were reduced to pecuniary compensation, and we have undoubtedly given in to the temptation to try to settle unsustainable situations with money. to: silence the scandals, "he said.

Salazar admitted that, for reasons of concealment, they can be sentenced to prison, like pedophile priests, for whom he asked that more than one sentence be dealt with in order to avoid recidivism .

The Colombian cardinal's statements come at a time when the scandal of pedophilia in the churches is at its height, after several cases have been revealed since last year. It's even Pope Francis himself who has asked to meet with Catholic leaders around the world to examine the implications of crime for the credibility of the institution.