Pope visits Uruguay's worst-secured neighborhood, slams drug violence for harming children

(Central News Agency, Monteverde, capital of Uruguay, comprehensive foreign news report on the 7th) Roman Catholic Pope Leo XIV (Pope Leo XIV) visited the most unsafe communities in Uruguay, a South American country, today, criticizing the rampant drug violence in some parts of this wealthy country, which has even caused the death of children.

According to reports from Agence France-Presse and Reuters, although the 71-year-old Pope Leo XIV had just undergone lung cancer surgery three weeks ago, he has now embarked on a 12-day tour of South America. The first stop is Uruguay, where he is expected to stay until tomorrow, and then travel to Argentina and Peru.

Leo XIV walked through the Casavalle area of ​​Monteverde, the capital, today under tight security. The local murder rate is four times the national average, and residents say they hear gunshots every night.

"There are children in Uruguay who are afraid to go to school because they are afraid they will never return home," the pope said.

He said: "In a country with such abundant resources, children should never go to bed hungry... let alone suffer violence or even lose their lives as a result."

Uruguay has always been a country with relatively good security, but as the country has increasingly become a transshipment hub for Latin America's cocaine trade, gangs competing for control of drug transportation routes have retaliated against each other and attacked each other, causing the murder rate to rise sharply.

Claudia, a 33-year-old nurse who did not want to give her last name, told AFP that she once saw a motorcycle parked in front of her house, and someone opened fire on the car, "beating a man with bullet holes all over his body."

"When a kid sees a body lying there, you don't know what to do. It's become so common," she said.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), approximately 40% of children and adolescents in Uruguay live in poverty.

In his speech, Pope Leo XIV called on the Uruguayan people to "break away" from their indifference to poverty and inequality and lend a helping hand to those in need. "We cannot turn a blind eye to the many suffering people around us," he said.

Leo XIV also went to Paysandu, an important economic town in northwest Uruguay and on the Uruguay River today, a round trip of about 750 kilometers from the capital Monteverde. He was the first pope to visit the city.

About 40,000 people came to the scene despite the rain, and many of them waited all night. Pope Leo XIV appealed to them, hoping that this region with serious political differences could reconcile differences.

The Vatican chose Santo del Pueblo as the place where Leo XIV held his first Mass in South America because of its convenient transportation and easy access for pilgrims from all over the region.

During his homily at Mass, Pope Leo XIV used the nearby General Artigas International Bridge, which connects Uruguay and Argentina, as a metaphor. He said: "It is not difficult to imagine the benefits that a bridge can bring: openness, communication and exchange. That is why it is so important to be a bridge builder!"