Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
San Salvador (Agenzia Fides) - The Catholic Church urges state institutions in El Salvador to respect the rights of children, it is necessary that the rules about it are put into practice and not left on paper, asked His Exc. Mgr. José Luis Escobar Alas, Archbishop of San Salvador, on the occasion of World Day Against Child Labor, held on June 12. In fact the Catholic Church called on the Salvadoran society to participate more actively in the fight against child labor that involves thousands of Salvadoran children, forced to survive in this modern slavery. As published in the local press, the official statistics of El Salvador said that one child out of ten works, which means that about 190,000 children are employed in adult jobs in the Central American country.
Mgr. José Luis Escobar Alas asked all institutions to "respect and enforce the rights of children in the country", says the statement sent to Fides. "We, as Church, argue that children should be educated. Children must have time to study, have fun, be with their parents, it is not fair that they are asked to work, it is a form of exploitation that should never happen , especially in this millennium", said the Archbishop. However, the problem is not simple, he said, because the problem must be treated "with all its implications: the lack of training of children can take them in the future to make wrong choices, as evidenced by the problem of gangs, among other things". With regard to the commitment of the Church, the Archbishop said: " We have a number of orphanages, schools ... In every parish there is catechesis, concern for disadvantaged children and training for parents, but the problem is overwhelming and the Church has no resource other than the commitment of the faithful ". (EC) (Agenzia Fides, 13 / 06/2011)
