Child trafficking: Pope Francis denounces disappearance of Loan

This Wednesday’s General Audience in the Vatican was dedicated to the little ones. It did not lack a circus show, the improvised appearance of two children and a forceful message from Pope Francis against all types of child abuse.

In particular, the Holy Father wanted to draw attention to a case that has shocked his country, Argentina. This is little Loan Danilo Peña, a 5-year-old boy who has disappeared in the province of Corrientes since last June 13 and whose whereabouts are still unknown.

“A child named Loan has been kidnapped and no one knows where,” Pope Francis told the faithful and pilgrims present in the Paul VI Hall.

He then explained that “one of the hypotheses” is that he has been a victim of human trafficking. “And this is done. They know it well, this is done. Some return with the scar, others die. That is why I want to remember this child today, Loan,” said the Holy Father.

Last November, the parents of the missing child, María Noguera and José Peña, wrote a letter to Pope Francis in which they asked him to receive them at the Vatican and pray for their missing son.

“Child abuse is a despicable and atrocious act.”

In this context, he denounced the situation in which hundreds of millions of minors find themselves, “exposed to especially dangerous work,” particularly those who “are slaves of trafficking for prostitution or pornography and forced marriages.”

“Child abuse, whatever its nature, is a despicable and heinous act. It is not simply a scourge of society and a crime; It is a very serious violation of God’s commandments. No child should be abused. “One case is already too many,” said the Pontiff.

For this reason, he stressed that it is necessary to “awaken consciences” and create synergies “among those who are committed to offering them opportunities and safe places in which to grow serenely.” do to children. They enslave children for a harvest.

Diffuse poverty, the Pontiff continued, “the scarcity of social tools to support families, the marginality that has increased in recent years along with unemployment and job insecurity are factors that burden the youngest children with the highest price.” to pay.”

“In the metropolises, where social fracture and moral decadence ‘bite’, there are children who are dedicated to drug trafficking and to the most diverse illicit activities,” Pope Francis noted before lamenting that “we often look the other way.”

He recalled that “Jesus wants us all free and happy,” and that “he loves the little ones with all the tenderness of his heart.”

“That is why he asks us to stop and listen to the suffering of those who have no voice, of those who have no education. Fighting against exploitation, especially child exploitation, is the way to build a better future for all of society,” he reiterated.

We are complicit “when we buy products that use child labor”

After exposing the reality that these children face, he invited the faithful not to become complicit in child labor, which happens “when we buy products that use child labor.”

“How can I eat and dress knowing that behind that food or those clothes there are exploited children, who work instead of going to school? Becoming aware of what we buy is a first act to avoid being complicit. Look where these products come from,” asked the Holy Father.

He stated in this sense that “each one can be a drop that, joined to many other drops, can become a sea” and urged institutions, including ecclesiastical ones, to make a difference “by directing their investments to companies that do not use or allow child labor.”

He also addressed a particular invitation to journalists to do their part: “they can contribute to raising awareness about the problem and help find solutions. Don’t be afraid, report these things.”

Finally, he thanked “all those who do not look the other way when they see children forced to become adults too soon.”

In conclusion, he remembered Saint Teresa of Calcutta and assured that “with the tenderness and care of her gaze, she can accompany us to see the invisible little ones, the too many slaves of a world that we cannot abandon to its injustices.”

Next, he read the text of the holy missionary entitled Can I count on you?:

“I ask for a safe place

where I can play.

I ask for a smile

of who knows how to love.

I ask for the right to be a child,

to be hope

of a better world.

I ask to be able to grow

as a person.”

At the end of his catechesis, Pope Francis and the faithful participating in the General Audience enjoyed a circus show. For the Pontiff, “the work of the circus is human, it is art” and requires “a lot of effort.”

Finally, the Holy Father asked for peace in Myanmar, Palestine, Israel and other countries suffering from armed conflict. Furthermore, he reiterated that “war is always a defeat” and invited people to pray “for the conversion of the hearts of the arms manufacturers.”