AFP, Panama City :
Pope Francis said in Panama Thursday that the Church must work to overcome the world’s “fears and suspicions” of migration, and pledged his support for efforts to avoid further suffering in crisis-torn Venezuela.
The pope is being kept abreast of developments in Caracas, and was praying for the people of Venezuela, Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said. Francis is supporting “all efforts” to avoid further suffering for the population, he said. Speaking from Panama in Central America – the hub for US-bound migrants –
Francis said migrants were simply seeking “the minimum conditions for a better future.”
The Argentine pope was addressing Central American bishops on the first day of his visit for a global gathering of young Catholics for World Youth Day. Earlier, in a speech to government ministers and members of the diplomatic corps at the foreign ministry, he called on political leaders to reject “all forms of corruption.”
Young people, he said, insisted that those in positions of authority should “lead a life that demonstrates that public service is a synonym of honesty and justice, and opposed to all forms of corruption.”
He returned to the theme in his speech to bishops at the nearby 17th Century St Francis of Assisi Church. Here, he deplored what he called “the plague” of femicide in Latin America, where some 2,800 women are killed each year, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
“The killing of women – our continent is experiencing a plague in this regard,” Francis said, saying this and other problems like drug trafficking, gang violence and the sexual exploitation of minors and young people, were “the fruit of a culture and a society run amok.”
“Often families have been broken by an economic system that did not prioritize persons and the common good, but made speculation its ‘paradise,’ without worrying who would end up paying the price.”
“And so, we see our young people without a home, without a family, without a community, without a sense of belonging, easy prey for the first charlatan who comes along.” Francis won praise from young people for his comments.
“These crimes are part of a highly macho culture in which we feel diminished,” said Fatima Melendez, 18, from El Salvador.
In her country, she said, women need “peace in something as simple as going out into the street.”
In the early evening, tens of thousands of young people gave the pope a rock-star welcome to the Catholic jamboree at a palm-fringed park overlooking Panama Bay.
“We want to tell you not to be afraid,” the pope said, urging them instead to go forward with “fresh energy and restlessness”. The idea was not to create “a parallel Church that would be more ‘fun’ or ‘cool’ thanks to a fancy youth event,” he said. But instead, the “constant freshness and youth” should be used in “service to our brothers and sisters, and concrete service at that.”
Several migrant caravans, mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador,
have been making their way through Central America and Mexico to the US border since last October, amid trenchant opposition from US President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis urged Latin America’s leaders on Thursday to shun corruption and tackle gang violence, drug trafficking and the killing of women, which he said had become a “plague” in his native continent. Francis also addressed migration for the second straight day, saying more had to be done to overcome fears and suspicions because migrants were seeking a better life. In a meeting with bishops from Central America, Francis said many young people found themselves “boxed in and lacking opportunities, amid highly conflictual situations with no quick solution: domestic violence, the killing of women – our continent is experiencing a plague in this regard – armed gangs and criminals, drug trafficking ….”
At least 2,795 women were victims of femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017, according to government data provided to the UN’s Latin American economic commission, ECLAC.
In El Salvador this phenomenon is particularly acute, with a rate of 10.2 femicides per 100,000 women in 2017, ECLAC said.
The pope said families had been “broken by an economic system that did not prioritize persons and the common good but made speculation its ‘paradise’.”
On Thursday evening, several hundred thousand young people took part in the opening ceremony of the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day – the reason for the pope’s visit – and heard Francis tell them to have the courage to change things.
In a morning address to Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and the diplomatic corps, Francis said the continent’s young people were demanding that their political leaders live honestly, transparently, simply, and “be opposed to all forms of corruption”.
Pope Francis said in Panama Thursday that the Church must work to overcome the world’s “fears and suspicions” of migration, and pledged his support for efforts to avoid further suffering in crisis-torn Venezuela.
The pope is being kept abreast of developments in Caracas, and was praying for the people of Venezuela, Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said. Francis is supporting “all efforts” to avoid further suffering for the population, he said. Speaking from Panama in Central America – the hub for US-bound migrants –
Francis said migrants were simply seeking “the minimum conditions for a better future.”
The Argentine pope was addressing Central American bishops on the first day of his visit for a global gathering of young Catholics for World Youth Day. Earlier, in a speech to government ministers and members of the diplomatic corps at the foreign ministry, he called on political leaders to reject “all forms of corruption.”
Young people, he said, insisted that those in positions of authority should “lead a life that demonstrates that public service is a synonym of honesty and justice, and opposed to all forms of corruption.”
He returned to the theme in his speech to bishops at the nearby 17th Century St Francis of Assisi Church. Here, he deplored what he called “the plague” of femicide in Latin America, where some 2,800 women are killed each year, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
“The killing of women – our continent is experiencing a plague in this regard,” Francis said, saying this and other problems like drug trafficking, gang violence and the sexual exploitation of minors and young people, were “the fruit of a culture and a society run amok.”
“Often families have been broken by an economic system that did not prioritize persons and the common good, but made speculation its ‘paradise,’ without worrying who would end up paying the price.”
“And so, we see our young people without a home, without a family, without a community, without a sense of belonging, easy prey for the first charlatan who comes along.” Francis won praise from young people for his comments.
“These crimes are part of a highly macho culture in which we feel diminished,” said Fatima Melendez, 18, from El Salvador.
In her country, she said, women need “peace in something as simple as going out into the street.”
In the early evening, tens of thousands of young people gave the pope a rock-star welcome to the Catholic jamboree at a palm-fringed park overlooking Panama Bay.
“We want to tell you not to be afraid,” the pope said, urging them instead to go forward with “fresh energy and restlessness”. The idea was not to create “a parallel Church that would be more ‘fun’ or ‘cool’ thanks to a fancy youth event,” he said. But instead, the “constant freshness and youth” should be used in “service to our brothers and sisters, and concrete service at that.”
Several migrant caravans, mostly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador,
have been making their way through Central America and Mexico to the US border since last October, amid trenchant opposition from US President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis urged Latin America’s leaders on Thursday to shun corruption and tackle gang violence, drug trafficking and the killing of women, which he said had become a “plague” in his native continent. Francis also addressed migration for the second straight day, saying more had to be done to overcome fears and suspicions because migrants were seeking a better life. In a meeting with bishops from Central America, Francis said many young people found themselves “boxed in and lacking opportunities, amid highly conflictual situations with no quick solution: domestic violence, the killing of women – our continent is experiencing a plague in this regard – armed gangs and criminals, drug trafficking ….”
At least 2,795 women were victims of femicide in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017, according to government data provided to the UN’s Latin American economic commission, ECLAC.
In El Salvador this phenomenon is particularly acute, with a rate of 10.2 femicides per 100,000 women in 2017, ECLAC said.
The pope said families had been “broken by an economic system that did not prioritize persons and the common good but made speculation its ‘paradise’.”
On Thursday evening, several hundred thousand young people took part in the opening ceremony of the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day – the reason for the pope’s visit – and heard Francis tell them to have the courage to change things.
In a morning address to Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and the diplomatic corps, Francis said the continent’s young people were demanding that their political leaders live honestly, transparently, simply, and “be opposed to all forms of corruption”.
