Bolivia's Catholic Church says it was 'deaf' to sexual abuse victims

FILE PHOTO: Priests celebrate a Catholic mass at the empty church of San Francisco as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in La Paz, Bolivia, April 10, 2020. REUTERS/David Mercado

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Roman Catholic Church leaders in Bolivia said on Wednesday the institution had been "deaf" to sexual abuse in Church-run schools and said they were taking action after a series of accusations in recent weeks led to protests and a legal investigation.

The accusations were sparked by the publication in Spanish newspaper El Pais in April of the diary of a late Jesuit priest, which contained multiple confessions of the sexual abuse of children in the schools he ran in Bolivia. It alleged Church officials knew about the abuse but did nothing.