Victims call the expulsion of Jesuit Francesc Peris a symbolic gesture

Pedro Lima, spokesperson for La Red Boliviana de Sobrevivientes de Abusos en la Iglesia, told The Pillar that the expulsion of Francesc Peris is a mere symbolic gesture. He stated the measure does not address complicity by the Society of Jesus and may serve to avoid institutional responsibility.

The Society of Jesus announced on October 5 that Peris, 84, was expelled from the clerical state and the order after a canonical penal process found him guilty of several offenses. He is accused of abusing 22 minors in Spain and Bolivia.

Peris will remain in a Jesuit residence under constant supervision and monitoring. An agreement stipulates he cannot have contact with minors or vulnerable adults, leave the residence without authorization, or communicate with his victims.

The attributed acts span from 1974 to 2004. Victims stated the abuses began in the 1960s at a school in Barcelona. Peris was sent to Bolivia in 1983 to work at the Juan XXIII school in Cochabamba and returned to Spain in 1984.