The Bishop of Goya (Argentina), Bishop Adolfo Ramón Canecín, accompanied the march and presided over a Mass to ask for the appearance of the 5-year-old boy Loan Danilo Peña, who has been wanted since mid-June in the province of Corrientes; as well as for the clarification of the case.
The mobilization took place on the night of Tuesday, August 26, from the Plaza Miter in the city of Goya to the local Cathedral, and was attended by Loan’s relatives, members of the Stolen Childhood Network, which works in the fight against human trafficking; and the Santa Teresa de Jesús Institute, an educational establishment in the city.
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Loan Danilo Peña was last seen on Thursday, June 13, at a family lunch at his grandmother’s house, in the El Algarrobal area, near the town of Nueve de Julio, in the Argentine province of Corrientes.
The investigation includes several detainees, including a former municipal official and her husband, a retired sailor; and federal security forces were deployed in the search, with the suspicion of being involved in a trafficking case.
Upon arriving at the cathedral, Bishop Canecín celebrated the Eucharist, focusing his homily on the importance of the Word of God “which is living, effective and discerns the thoughts that come from the heart.”
“We need this Word, which is living and effective, to discern the intentions of those who took Loan; “We need this Word to bring thoughts to light and discern them,” he considered.
In that sense, he questioned: “What thoughts, what intentions could there be for such an event?”
Likewise, he warned about the time that Justice has been without finding the truth about the case: “Justice has its rhythm, its time, which is not ours,” he noted, and asked “that this effectiveness that the Word of God has assists to those who administer Justice.”
“Lord, we ask you for Loan, we want him alive, we want to greet him, along with his mother María and his father José, and his entire family. That is what we want, Lord,” prayed Bishop Canecín.
Addressing the parents and brothers of Loan, he stated: “Brothers, God hears the cry of his People and we would like the immediacy of the response. Sometimes God’s time is not ours, but in his time, God responds.”
Citing the Word of God, the prelate highlighted two phrases: “Ask and it will be given to you” and “There is nothing hidden that will not come to light.”
“In this case there is a very dense darkness that seems to invade everything and that wants to prevent, perhaps very large interests and very strong networks, but the Word of God is more powerful,” he said.
“The Word of God leaves nothing unpunished and does not negotiate with evil,” he concluded.
“Lord: we believe in your Word and we want your word to be fulfilled and the truth to come to light,” he stressed, and encouraged the faithful to pray a lot “so that God gives wisdom and discernment, strength, courage, bravery and parrhesia to Judge Cristina Pozzer Penzo, to investigate to the last consequences, whoever falls, whoever is behind all this, only God knows, we don’t know.”
Finally, the bishop asked for forgiveness “because many times I could not be present accompanying them for my service as bishop” and encouraged them to “have faith and trust, because God hears the cry of his People and He is our peace.”
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.