Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father Benedict XVI has expressed his deep sorrow for the victims of the fire that devastated on February 15 the prison of Comayagua, in Honduras, causing hundreds of deaths and dozens injured (see Fides 16/2/2012). In a message signed by the Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Benedict XVI raises his "fervent prayers" for the more than 350 deaths, expressing his "spiritual closeness" to family members hoping for a "quick and full recovery of the wounded." The Pope, at a time "of such great sadness", calling on all "the loving protection of Our Lady of Suyapa".
The sad situation of overcrowded prisons in Latin America is unfortunately widespread, but there is the Church's commitment to assist the detainees and to urge the authorities to solve the most pressing problems. In Chile, the Church has repeatedly denounced this dramatic reality: in December 2010, 81 prisoners lost their lives in a rebellion triggered by the strong overcrowding (see Fides 10/12/2011). In Venezuela, at the end of July 2011, Cardinal Urosa asked the Minister Iris Varela to take measures to improve the lives of over 49,000 prisoners in the Country. For several months Cardinal Urosa and the Bishops of Venezuela had appealed to resolve the situation of national prisons, especially after the terrible acts of violence that occurred in June 2011 in the prison " Internado Judicial Capital El Rodeo I" in Guatire, in the State of Miranda (see Fides 18/06/2011).
"We have to build new prisons. We must address this issue fully and urgently. It is not possible that the prisons are as they are now controlled by the most violent prisoners", said Cardinal Urosa (see Fides 01/08/2011), reiterating what he had said earlier: "Only with effective changes to the prison system the Country can solve this problem" (see Fides 24/06/2011).
In Mexico, the Catholic Church works in 482 of the 489 prisons in the country, where there are more than 220 000 prisoners, and where more than 4000 pastoral operators visit these prisons at least once a week. In some prisons there is the lack of the presence of the Catholic Church because the authorities have difficulty dealing with high security prisons (see Fides 13/07/2011).
Sometimes there have been tensions between the Church and the authorities responsible, such as when a Bishop was banned from entering a state prison because he dared to say that the zoo animals were fed better than the prisoners of his diocese. In response, the governor did not let him enter any prison for three years (see Fides 13/07/2011).
In Colombia, according to latest statistics from the National Penitentiary Institutes and Prisons (INPEC), the country's prison facilities have a capacity of 72,785 prisoners but currently they are home to around 91 000. The problem of overcrowding in prisons was also one of the topics discussed during the Meeting of the Regional Center for Pastoral Care of Prisons in 2011 (see Fides 11/06/2011).
In El Salvador, 23 young detainees died in a fire in November 2010 (see Fides 15/11/2010). The Church in El Salvador in the past had already expressed its concern on the situation of prisons in the country (see Fides 11/10/2010). Ilobasco prison, where the fire occurred, is a detention center for the young who are more than 18 years old convicted when they were minors and cannot serve their sentences in adult prisons. In fact the victims of the fire were between 19 and 25 years of age. According to figures released by the media, the prison system in El Salvador has a population of 15,207 inmates. Of these 14,280 are men and 927 women. On trial, awaiting final judgment, are 8,324 (7,073 men and 1,251 women).
(CE) (Agenzia Fides 17/2/2012)
