Latin American survivor networks reject proposed agreement between Bolivia and the Holy See

Six Latin American survivor networks have signed a petition opposing a draft agreement between the Bolivian government and the Holy See. As survivors of child sexual abuse, they argue that this agreement would perpetuate sexual violence in Catholic Church and guarantee impunity.

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International pronouncement: we denounce the imposition of the Holy See on sovereign states

The undersigned networks and organisations of survivors of ecclesiastical sexual abuse in Latin America, in response to the alert issued by the Bolivian Community of Survivors regarding the draft agreement that the Holy See intends to impose on the Bolivian State, express the following:

No State should recognise the inviolability of archives, records and documents in episcopal conferences, episcopal curiae, curiae of superiors of institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life and other bodies, entities and dependencies of the Catholic Church, nor for the infrastructure of these dependencies, as it would obstruct investigations into allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by any of its members. Especially the Apostolic Nunciature should have such diplomatic treatment.
No State should guarantee the inviolability of the sacrament of confession; on the contrary, exceptions should be made for offences specified in the legal system of each country, particularly child sexual abuse, in which case the confessor and the religious order should be obliged to report to the ordinary justice system.
No state should recognise the right of Catholic social and health care entities to directly appoint or hire their personnel in line with their institutional identity; on the contrary, all Catholic church personnel, especially those involved in the education and health of children, the elderly and vulnerable people, should be required to have a criminal record and pass psychological tests prior to appointment, to avoid sexual, psychological, power, conscience and other abuses.
Ordained ministers, consecrated faithful and foreign lay people invited to render pastoral service in their respective ecclesiastical jurisdictions, at the invitation of their bishops, are required to have a criminal record and to present psychological tests that rule out their paedophile potential, before they are authorised to enter the territory of the receiving state and the works of the church.
No state should recognise legal personalities of foreign entities merely because they enjoy legal personality under canon law. The same full procedure must be applied as for national organisations requiring this status. The same applies to entities claiming status.

States cannot submit to the Catholic Church, nor can they guarantee mechanisms for impunity for sexual abuse. The best interests of its population, especially children and vulnerable people, must always be paramount. We are vigilant in our countries to guarantee truth and justice.

Signed,