(Bogota) The names of 26 priests investigated for sexual abuse of minors in Colombia have been published by the archdiocese of the city of Medellín, at the request of justice.
Posted at 5:51 p.m.
This list, which includes the names of priests “denounced” to the public prosecutor’s office between 1995 and 2019, was released after justice acceded to a request to this effect from journalist Juan Pablo Barrientos, who investigates pedocrime in the Colombian Church. .
“The majority of these priests […] who raped children were suspended for a short time and then resumed their duties, ”commented the journalist, in a video published on Saturday.
The Archbishop of Medellín, Msgr. Ricardo Tobon, assured that the Church wants to be “transparent […] and show that there is no intention of concealment”.
In a video posted on the Archdiocese’s Twitter account, Bishop Tobon also denounces an “aggressive smear campaign against the Church” by Mr. Barrientos.
In 2019, Mr. Barrientos published the book Dejad que los niños vengan a mí (“Let the little children come to me”), an investigation into sexual assaults covered up by the clergy in a country with a strong Catholic majority.
The majority of the violence recounted in the book was committed in Antioquia (north-west) and the archbishop of Medellín, capital of this very conservative department, is denounced there for having covered up one of the religious.
The Church attempted to prevent the publication of the book through legal action, to no avail.
In 2021, the journalist published a second investigation, Este es el Cordero de Dios (“It’s the Lamb of God”), which reveals the scandal of a pedophile network in the diocese of Villavicencio, 120 km southeast of Bogota, involving 38 priests accused of sexual assault and rape of minors .
At least six priests have served prison sentences for child rape in the country.