Killing of women a ‘plague’, Pope says
PANAMA CITY: Pope Francis urged Latin America’s leaders yesterday 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, on the first full day of his trip to Panama for a Catholic youth festival, also addressed migration for the second straight day, saying more had to be done to overcome fears and suspicions because most migrants were seeking a better life for their families.
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 2795 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 the rate was 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 prioritise persons and the common good but made speculation its ‘paradise’.’’
The Vatican issued a statement saying the pope was following events in Venezuela.
In a separate 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’’. — Reuters