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Saudi Gazette
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Fleeing US deportations, it took this family three tries to enter Canada
BUFFALO — The Rainbow Bridge, which crosses the Niagara River between the United States and Canada, has for decades been a symbol of peace connecting two countries. But for Araceli, a Salvadorian migrant, and her family, the bridge represented a seemingly insurmountable hurdle. Along with her partner and two daughters, aged four and 14, the family first attempted to cross the bridge on 17 March. They had arrived with a suitcase and documents that they believed assured them they would soon be reunited with Araceli's siblings on Canadian soil and escape the threat of US President Donald Trump's mass deportations. But the plan failed. Not just once, but twice. While a third attempt proved successful, immigration experts and official statistics point to a rise of asylum seekers at the border fleeing not just their homelands, but President Trump's immigration policies. Araceli and her family had been living illegally in the US for more than a decade – only her youngest daughter, who was born in New Jersey, has a US passport. In the US, Araceli built a life for herself and tried to initiate an asylum application process, but was unsuccessful. "They charged me money and told me I would get a work permit. I paid that to a lawyer, but they never gave me an answer as to whether it was approved or not," she told BBC Mundo from a migrant shelter near the US-Canada border. Araceli has 12 siblings, and like her, several left El Salvador due to safety concerns in the rural community where they grew up. Two of them managed to start from scratch in Canada. After President Trump's inauguration, amid reports of mass raids and deportations, Araceli began to fear for her and her family's safety – especially after the administration began sending illegal migrants to a notorious Salvadorian prison. But because both Canada and the US have signed onto the "safe third country agreement," migrants, like Araceli, who have been denied refuge in one country are not supposed to be granted asylum in the other. The agreement states that asylum seekers must apply for asylum in the first country where they land. There are exceptions. One of them is if the asylum seeker arriving from the US can prove they have a close relative in Canada who meets certain requirements, they can enter the country and begin their refugee claim again. So Araceli and her family said goodbye to the life they had built in the US to join her two brothers in Canada. After crossing the Rainbow Bridge, they arrived at the border check point to make their asylum claim. She said she had all the original documents proving her relationship to her brother. "They took everything, even our backpack, and we were left with nothing," They spent the entire night in a waiting room, occasionally answering questions, until an agent found a problem with the application. "They found a small detail: on my [birth] certificate, my father only had one last name, and on my brother's, he had two." And although the document had a clarification explaining that such inaccuracies are common in El Salvador, the agent denied them entry to Canada. The family returned, resigned and anguished, having to face their greatest fear: being separated and deported. At the US checkpoint, they were put in a room with no windows. "The four of us spent 14 days in that cell," Araceli said, clarifying that they could go out to use the bathroom, but were barely allowed outside. Her brother reached out to an organization that works with migrants, who helped them hire an attorney, Heather Neufeld. While she was preparing their documentation, and without any explanation, the family was given an apparent second chance. "Two agents arrived at the cell and said: 'Congratulations, you're going to Canada'," Araceli recalled. But their hopes were short-lived. "We've been too generous in welcoming you back here," she recalled the agent saying after the family applied for asylum in Canada a second time. "The United States will see what it does with you." A spokesperson declined to comment on Araceli's case in particular, citing the country's privacy laws. One thing is for sure — more families like Araceli's are seeking exceptions to come to Canada. While the number of people attempting to cross into the United States from Canada has decreased significantly, the number of asylum seekers being denied entry into Canada from the US has increased. According to official figures from the United States government,13,547 apprehensions were reported along the entire northern border as of March 2025 – a 70% decrease compared to the number recorded in the first quarter of 2024. Conversely, the number of migrants seeking asylum in Canada and being returned to the US has increased this year, according to data from Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). In April of this year, 359 people, including adults and children, were found ineligible for asylum in Canada, compared to 180 people in April 2024. Ms Neufeld believes the increase in the number of people turned away is due to "stricter" border policy at the Canadian side. In December 2024, Canada announced an investment of C$1.3bn ($950m; £705m) to "strengthen border security and strengthen the immigration system". The move was largely seen as an attempt to placate Trump, who has justified widespread tariffs against Canada by blaming the country for illegal immigration into the US. In February, amid a brewing trade war, the Canadian government announced it would further expand this programme. The CBSA has also committed to increasing the number of removals from 16,000 to 20,000 (a 25% increase) for fiscal years 2025-2027. Still, a spokesperson for CBSA told BBC Mundo that they have not changed how they do things: "We have made no changes to policies or processes". Denied entry to Canada for the second time, Araceli and her family had to cross the border back into the US, which scared them. "In this day and age, it's not just about being sent to the United States. There's an immediate risk of detention and deportation," Ms Neufeld said. The problem now was that this second trip to Canada was counted as a reconsideration of the case, the only one the family is entitled to under that country's regulations. Ms Neufeld said that Canadian border agents made a mistake. "They didn't act like they had in the past with other clients, nor did they agree to an interview with the brother when they normally do," she stated. According to Ms Neufeld, the family didn't return to Canada of their own free will, but because the US authorities told them to, and so their second attempt should not have been considered an official reconsideration. To get a third opportunity to cross the border and make an asylum claim, Araceli would need a Canadian court to intervene. When they returned to America, her partner was sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre, while Araceli was made to wear an ankle monitor and she and her children went to a migrant shelter. "They came to tell us they were giving us three minutes to say goodbye because my husband was going to be taken to a detention center," Araceli recalls, her voice breaking. A week later, following complex negotiations between the lawyers, a Canadian federal court agreed to allow the family to return to the border to be re-evaluated. On 5 May, seven weeks after the first attempt, Araceli crossed the bridge once again. This time, she had her lawyer with her. After 12 hours, a border agent opened the doors and said "welcome to Canada and good luck with your new life", she recalled. "I felt immense joy, it's indescribable," Araceli told Canadian public broadcaster CBC earlier in May, adding: "My daughters gave me so much strength." But it was a bittersweet celebration, as her partner remained in the US for two more weeks, caught up in ongoing legal proceedings. The family hired a lawyer to take on his case. "They managed to get him out on bail, and that's something not all detention centres allow. The whole family had to make a huge effort; they had to sell things to be able to pay for it," Ms Neufeld said. According to her, this family's case reflects the changes that have recently occurred on the northern border. "There are many more Aracelis, but we can't know where they are or what situation they are facing. Most people lack the capacity to fight to have their rights respected." — BBC
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Fleeing US deportations, it took this family three tries to enter Canada
The Rainbow Bridge, which crosses the Niagara River between the United States and Canada, has for decades been a symbol of peace connecting two countries. But for Araceli, a Salvadorian immigrant, and her family, the bridge represented a seemingly insurmountable hurdle. Along with her partner and two daughters, aged four and 14, the family first attempted to cross the bridge on 17 March. They had arrived with a suitcase and documents that they believed assured them they would soon be reunited with Araceli's siblings on Canadian soil and escape the threat of US President Donald Trump's mass deportations. But the plan failed. Not just once, but twice. While a third attempt proved successful, immigration experts and official statistics point to a rise of asylum seekers at the border fleeing not just their homelands, but President Trump's immigration policies. Araceli and her family had been living illegally in the US for more than a decade – only her youngest daughter, who was born in New Jersey, has a US passport. In the US, Araceli built a life for herself and tried to initiate an asylum application process, but was unsuccessful. "They charged me money and told me I would get a work permit. I paid that to a lawyer, but they never gave me an answer as to whether it was approved or not," she told BBC Mundo from a migrant shelter near the US-Canada border. Araceli has 12 siblings, and like her, several left El Salvador due to safety concerns in the rural community where they grew up. Two of them managed to start from scratch in Canada. After President Trump's inauguration, amid reports of mass raids and deportations, Araceli began to fear for her and her family's safety – especially after the administration began sending illegal migrants to a notorious Salvadorian prison. But because both Canada and the US have signed onto the "safe third country agreement," migrants, like Araceli, who have been denied refuge in one country are not supposed to be granted asylum in the other. The agreement states that asylum seekers must apply for asylum in the first country where they land. There are exceptions. One of them is if the asylum seeker arriving from the US can prove they have a close relative in Canada who meets certain requirements, they can enter the country and begin their refugee claim again. So Araceli and her family said goodbye to the life they had built in the US to join her two brothers in Canada. After crossing the Rainbow Bridge, they arrived at the border check point to make their asylum claim. She said she had all the original documents proving her relationship to her brother. "They took everything, even our backpack, and we were left with nothing," They spent the entire night in a waiting room, occasionally answering questions, until an agent found a problem with the application. "They found a small detail: on my [birth] certificate, my father only had one last name, and on my brother's, he had two." And although the document had a clarification explaining that such inaccuracies are common in El Salvador, the agent denied them entry to Canada. The family returned, resigned and anguished, having to face their greatest fear: being separated and deported. At the US checkpoint, they were put in a room with no windows. "The four of us spent 14 days in that cell," Araceli said, clarifying that they could go out to use the bathroom, but were barely allowed outside. Her brother reached out to an organisation that works with migrants, who helped them hire an attorney, Heather Neufeld. While she was preparing their documentation, and without any explanation, the family was given an apparent second chance. "Two agents arrived at the cell and said: 'Congratulations, you're going to Canada'," Araceli recalled. But their hopes were short-lived. "We've been too generous in welcoming you back here," she recalled the agent saying after the family applied for asylum in Canada a second time. "The United States will see what it does with you." A spokesperson declined to comment on Araceli's case in particular, citing the country's privacy laws. 'It's not fair': Other refugees in limbo as US welcomes white South Africans What is the 1798 law that Trump used to deport migrants? What is habeas corpus and why might Donald Trump want to suspend it? One thing's for sure - more families like Araceli's are seeking exceptions to come to Canada. While the number of people attempting to cross into the United States from Canada has decreased significantly, the number of asylum seekers being denied entry into Canada from the US has increased. According to official figures from the United States government,13,547 apprehensions were reported along the entire northern border as of March 2025 – a 70% decrease compared to the number recorded in the first quarter of 2024. Conversely, the number of migrants seeking asylum in Canada and being returned to the US has increased this year, according to data from Canada Border Services Agency. In April of this year, 359 people, including adults and children, were found ineligible for asylum in Canada, compared to 180 people in April 2024. Ms Neufeld believes the increase in the number of people turned away is due to "stricter" border policy at the Canadian side. In December 2024, Canada announced an investment of C$1.3bn ($950m; £705m) to "strengthen border security and strengthen the immigration system". The move was largely seen as an attempt to placate Trump, who has justified widespread tariffs against Canada by blaming the country for illegal immigration into the US. In February, amid a brewing trade war, the Canadian government announced it would further expand this programme. The CBSA has also committed to increasing the number of removals from 16,000 to 20,000 (a 25% increase) for fiscal years 2025-2027. Still, a spokesperson for CBSA told BBC Mundo that they have not changed how they do things: "We have made no changes to policies or processes". Denied entry to Canada for the second time, Araceli and her family had to cross the border back into the US, which scared them. "In this day and age, it's not just about being sent to the United States. There's an immediate risk of detention and deportation," Ms Neufeld said. The problem now was that this second trip to Canada was counted as a reconsideration of the case, the only one the family is entitled to under that country's regulations. Ms Neufeld said that Canadian border agents made a mistake. "They didn't act like they had in the past with other clients, nor did they agree to an interview with the brother when they normally do," she stated. According to Ms Neufeld, the family didn't return to Canada of their own free will, but because the US authorities told them to, and so their second attempt should not have been considered an official reconsideration. To get a third opportunity to cross the border and make an asylum claim, Araceli would need a Canadian court to intervene. When they returned to America, her partner was sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, while Araceli was made to wear an ankle monitor and she and her children went to a migrant shelter. "They came to tell us they were giving us three minutes to say goodbye because my husband was going to be taken to a detention center," Araceli recalls, her voice breaking. A week later, following complex negotiations between the lawyers, a Canadian federal court agreed to allow the family to return to the border to be re-evaluated. On 5 May - seven weeks after the first attempt - Araceli crossed the bridge once again. This time, she had her lawyer with her. After 12 hours, a border agent opened the doors and said "welcome to Canada and good luck with your new life", she recalled. "I felt immense joy, it's indescribable," Araceli told Canadian public broadcaster CBC earlier in May, adding: "My daughters gave me so much strength." But it was a bittersweet celebration, as her partner remained in the US for two more weeks, caught up in ongoing legal proceedings. The family hired a lawyer to take on his case. "They managed to get him out on bail, and that's something not all detention centers allow. The whole family had to make a huge effort; they had to sell things to be able to pay for it," Ms Neufeld said. According to her, this family's case reflects the changes that have recently occurred on the northern border. "There are many more Aracelis, but we can't know where they are or what situation they are facing. Most people lack the capacity to fight to have their rights respected."
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Venezuelan deported from US using gang 'points system', lawyers say
When Andry Hernández got a pair of tattoos on his wrists with the words mom and dad, he thought they would look even more striking if he added something else to them, according to the tattoo artist, José Manuel Mora. "What if you add some small crowns?" Mr Hernández is said to have asked the artist. The crown is the symbol of the Catholic annual Three Kings Day celebrations for which Mr Hernández's Venezuelan hometown, Capacho Nuevo, is famed. Seven years later, those crowns may have led to Mr Hernández being locked up in El Salvador's mega-prison. He and dozens of other Venezuelans alleged by US President Donald Trump to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang were deported to the Central American nation in March. "If I had known that the crowns would take Andry to jail, I would never have tattooed them on his body", Mr Mora tells BBC Mundo. Mr Hernández left his hometown in Venezuela for the United States in May last year. Like many migrants, he began a long trip through the Darién jungle on the border between Colombia and Panama, on his journey to Mexico. According to court documents filed by his lawyers, obtained by BBC Mundo, the 31-year-old surrendered at the border, at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, on 29 August after making an appointment with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency for asylum. His asylum request claimed that he was a victim of persecution in Venezuela for his political beliefs and sexual orientation. What is Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang targeted by Trump? BBC Verify: British man's tattoo wrongly linked to Venezuelan gang in US government document He was then taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and was sent to the Otay Mesa Detention Centre in San Diego. At the centre, "he was flagged as a security risk for the sole reason of his tattoos", his lawyer wrote in a statement. His legal team says Mr Hernández's interrogation at the centre was carried out by an official from the private company CoreCivic - a company contracted by the government - not by Ice agents. CoreCivic official Arturo Torres, acting as interviewer, used a score system to determine whether a detainee is part of a criminal organisation. It has nine categories, each with its own score. According to the criteria, the detainees are considered gang members if they score 10 or more points, and they are considered suspects if they score nine or fewer points. Mr Hernández was given five points for the tattoos on his wrists, which included two crowns, according to paperwork signed in December 2024 by officers from the company. The interviewing officer wrote: "Detainee Hernández has a crown on each one of his wrist. The crown has been found to be an identifier for a Tren de Aragua gang member". The BBC has contacted CoreCivic for comment, but has not received a reply. "So far, that form is the only government document linking Mr Hernández to the Tren de Aragua," Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Centre and part of the legal team representing the young Venezuelan, told BBC Mundo. Authorities have not provided further information about Mr Hernández's case, or the charges faced by him or other Venezuelans recently deported to El Salvador. Lawyers defending migrants' cases do not know whether the particular score system that marked Mr Hernández as a suspected member of Tren de Aragua has been used during the assessment of other detainees. However, authorities have acknowledged that tattoos are one of the criteria used for identifying gang members. According to court documents filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Venezuelan deportees, there is second scoring guide which evaluates detainees on a 20-point scale. The form instructs agents on how to validate detainees as a member of Tren de Aragua under the Alien Enemies Act - a centuries-old law that has been invoked by Trump to detain and deport individuals considered enemies of the United States. Higher scores of 10 points are given to detainees who have criminal or civil convictions, sentencing memorandums, or criminal complaints that identify them as members of Tren de Aragua. Lower scores are for those with tattoos denoting their membership or loyalty to the gang (four points) - or who have insignias, logos, notes, drawings, or clothing indicating loyalty to it (also four points). The lowest scores (two points) are assigned if the detainee, for instance, appears on social media displaying symbols or hand gestures related to the gang. BBC Mundo reached out to DHS and Ice to request information about the scoring system used in the two forms, but received no response. However, DHS has previously published a statement on its website, called 100 Days of Fighting Fake News, stating that its assessments go well beyond tattoos and social media. "We are confident in our law enforcement's intelligence, and we aren't going to share intelligence reports", the document said. "We have a stringent law enforcement assessment in place that abides by due process under the US Constitution." What is the 1798 law that Trump used to deport migrants? Jason Stevens, special agent in charge of the El Paso Homeland Security Investigations Office, told BBC Mundo that according to the guidelines, officers used a variety of criteria to identify a gang member. He said in addition to an individual's tattoos, officers look at criminal associations, monikers, social media activity and messages on phones. Lawyers representing deportees have included official government guidelines in their court cases, arguing that it is insufficient to identify a detainee as a member of Tren de Aragua based on photographs of tattoos. Venezuelan researcher and journalist Ronna Rísquez, author of a book about Tren de Aragua, dismisses the idea that tattoos are a criterion that defines membership in this group. "Equating the Tren de Aragua gang with Central American gangs in terms of tattoos is a mistake," she warned. "You don't have to have a tattoo to be a member of the Tren de Aragua gang." Unaware that he was suspected of belonging to Tren de Aragua, Mr Hernández was expecting to appear in a US court for another asylum-related hearing that he hoped could eventually allow him to remain in the country. By March 2025, he had spent nearly six months at the San Diego detention centre before being abruptly transferred to the Webb County Detention Centre in Laredo, Texas, while his asylum case was still pending. He was not the only person who would be transferred to that second centre. On 15 March, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected Tren de Aragua members, arguing that Venezuelan authorities had ceded control over their territories to transnational criminal organisations. Without being able to contest the charges, Mr Hernández was deported that day as part of a group of 238 Venezuelans and 23 Salvadorans, to El Salvador's notorious mega-prison, known as the Terrorist Confinement Centre (Cecot). Mr Hernández had a court date scheduled for his asylum request, but according to his lawyers, authorities at the Webb County Detention Centre would not allow him to attend via video call. Since then, no-one has heard from him. His parents had no information about him until they were told that someone had seen a photo of their son in a Salvadoran prison. Inside El Salvador's secretive mega-jail Venezuelans deported to mega-prison 'trapped in black hole' Mr Hernández designed and hand-embroidered his own costumes for the annual religious festival of known as the Three Wise Men of Capacho, his family say. He also designed the outfits for some of the girls for their own celebrations of the festival in his home state of Táchira, near the border with Colombia. The symbol that identifies the religious festival - which was officially declared part of Venezuela's national cultural heritage, and of which its residents are proud - is a golden crown. Since he was 7 years old, Mr Hernández has participated in the festival representing various biblical characters. "Andry is a makeup artist, a theatre actor, and we all love him very much", said Miguel Chacón, president of the Capacho Three Kings Foundation, which organises the 108-year-old event. "Some young people get tattoos of the kings' crowns like Andry did. That was his crime." Hundreds of people in Capacho Nuevo, a modest agricultural town, participated in a vigil at the end of March to demand Mr Hernández's release. Some of them wore crowns. One of Mr Hernández's friends, Reina Cárdenas, maintained contact with him until a few days before his deportation. She showed BBC Mundo official documents indicating that the young man had no criminal record in Venezuela. Mr Hernández dreamed of opening a beauty salon and helping his parents financially, Ms Cárdenas said by phone from Capacho Nuevo. Seeking a better future, Mr Hernández left his hometown and lived in Bogotá for a year, where he worked as a makeup artist and as a hotel receptionist. He returned to Venezuela after receiving a job offer at a television channel in Caracas, where he was excited by the idea of doing makeup for presenters, models, and beauty queens, Ms Cárdenas said. "He did not stay in the TV station for more than a year because he was discriminated against for his sexual orientation and because of his political beliefs," she noted. "He received threats." Mr Hernández decided to leave Caracas and return to his hometown. "He wasn't well, he didn't want to leave his house," his friend said. He remained there for five months until May 2024, when he decided to travel to the US through the Darién jungle, despite his mother urging him to stay. Today, Mr Hernández's mother, Alexis Romero de Hernández, can hardly bear the pain of not having him by her side. "I'm waiting for news of my son," she told BBC Mundo. "I want to know how he is. I wonder how they're treating him. If they gave him water. If they gave him food. Every day I think about him and ask God to bring him back to me." The last known image of Hernandez is a photo taken of him on the night of 15 March inside the Salvadoran mega-prison, when a American photojournalist Philip Holsinger documented the arrival of a group of alleged criminals for Time magazine. That was when he took a photo of a young man saying "I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a barber", Mr Holsinger wrote in his article. The man was chained and on his knees while the guards shaved his head. Mr Holsinger later learned that man was Mr Hernández. "He was being slapped every time he would speak up… he started praying and calling out, literally crying for his mother," Holsinger told CBS. "Then he buried his face in his chained hands and cried as he was slapped again." Mr Hernández's case has caused a stir in the US, and mystery surrounds his whereabouts. California Governor Gavin Newsom has requested his return, while four US congressional representatives travelled to El Salvador and requested to be provided with proof of life for him. They did not get it. British man's tattoo wrongly linked to Venezuelan gang in US government document What is the 1798 law that Trump used to deport migrants?
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'God loves Peru': Country celebrates new Pope as one of their own
Halfway through Leo XIV's first speech as pope, which he delivered in Italian, he stopped and asked if he might say a few words in Spanish. Smiling, he continued: "A greeting to all and in particular to my dear Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru." The first American pope is a citizen of Peru and has spent much of his life there, travelling between the two countries for decades until 2014, when Pope Francis appointed him bishop of the Chiclayo Diocese in the country's north. On Thursday, Peruvians rejoiced at the appointment of one of their own to the highest position in the Catholic Church. Standing near Lima's cathedral shortly after bells rang out in celebration of the appointment, elementary school teacher Isabel Panez said: "For us Peruvians, it is a source of pride that this is a pope who represents our country." Prevost would often say that he had "come from Chicago to Chiclayo – the only difference is a few letters," Diana Celis, who attended several Masses officiated by the then Bishop Robert Prevost, told the Associated Press news agency. He reportedly referred to Peru, where around three quarters of people are Catholic, as "mi segunda patria" – my second homeland. Peru's president, Dina Voluarte, described Pope Leo as Peruvian "by choice and conviction". "The pope is Peruvian; God loves Peru," she said. Born in Chicago in 1955, he is the son of Louis Marius Prevost, of French and Italian descent, and Mildred Martinez, of Spanish descent. After completing studies in theology in Chicago and in canon law in Rome, the Catholic Church sent him to Peru for the first time. He arrived at the Augustinian mission in Chulucanas, in the Peruvian department of Piura, in 1985, aged 30, and the following year, joined the mission in Trujillo. For almost three decades, he worked between the US and Peru. Then, in 2014, Pope Francis appointed Prevost bishop of Chiclayo, a position he assumed the following year, after becoming a Peruvian citizen. Jose Luis Perez Guadalupe, who was the minister responsible for signing Prevost's naturalisation, told BBC Mundo that he was "a very attentive and very thoughtful man, who listened more than he spoke." These were his first encounters with a country that would come to shape his life. Janinna Sesa, who met Prevost while she worked for the church's Caritas nonprofit, told the Associated Press during torrential rains in 2022 he waded through mud to help people in Chiclayo and nearby villages. He also delivered food and blankets to remote Andean villages, driving a white pickup truck and sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor. There, Sesa said, Prevost ate whatever was offered to him, including the peasant diet consisting of potatoes, cheese and sweet corn. But, if the opportunity came up, he would enjoy carne asada – one of his favorite dishes – accompanied by a glass of Coca-Cola. He also had an interest in cars. "He has no problem fixing a broken-down truck until it runs," Sesa said. Prevost was the driving force for the purchase of two oxygen-production plants during the coronavirus pandemic, which killed more than 217,000 people across Peru. "He worked so hard to find help, that there was not only enough for one plant, but for two oxygen plants," Sesa said. Edinson Farfán, the Peruvian Bishop of Chiclayo since 2024, said Pope Leo would continue Pope Francis's legacy of working with the poor and advocating for "a Church with open doors". He was "very close to Pope Francis", he said. "He was undoubtedly deeply influenced by this particular Church of Chiclayo. Chiclayo is a city that greatly values the simple faith of its people. He has a special affection for the diocese." "It's his beloved diocese, it's his life. He learned here everything he can share and will share with the entire world." But not all in the country are proud of his record. Serious accusations have been made about his handling of sexual abuse cases during his time as Bishop of Chiclayo. In 2023, three Peruvian women went public with claims that as bishop he failed to investigate their reports of having been abused as teenagers by two priests in Chiclayo, dating back to 2007. They said that when they raised their allegations with the diocese in 2022, no proper inquiry was opened. Church officials in Chiclayo said that action was taken and the accused priests were put on precautionary suspension, and that the case was referred to the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles serious abuse cases. The diocese said it was Rome's decision to shelve the case without a full canonical trial and that it conducted a preliminary investigation. These allegations about his leadership are one of the challenges he will face as he now heads the Church worldwide. Perez Guadalupe said that while Prevost primarily remained focused on church matters in Peru, he was "very attentive to the reality" of the country. In 2023, when violent anti-government protests following the ousting of then-president Pedro Castillo left 49 dead, Prevost told Peruvian media he felt "much sorrow and much pain". That year, Pope Francis called Prevost to Rome to serve as the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world and one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. He was also appointed president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Prevost said that he had asked Pope Francis to allow him to remain in Peru longer. As he heard Prevost was the new pope, Thomas Nicolini, a Peruvian who studies economics in Rome, went to St Peter's Square. He told the AP that Chiclayo is, "A beautiful area, but one of the regions that needs lots of hope." "So, now I'm expecting that the new pope helps as many people as possible, and tries to reignite, let's say, the faith young people have lost."
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Why Pope's death leaves Argentines 'orphaned' in more ways than one
When the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, left Argentina's capital to participate in the Vatican conclave to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor, he did not know it would be the last time he would see his hometown. The fact that Pope Francis never returned to his country after becoming the pontiff left some Argentines with a heavy heart. Speaking on Monday, Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva said his parish were "orphans of a father who profoundly loved his country and had to learn to become the father of the whole world". He also added that Francis becoming Pope "cost us as Argentines a little bit... Bergoglio left us to become Francis". LIVE UPDATES: Follow the latest after the Pope's death IN PICTURES: Defining images of Pope Francis's life PROFILE: Acting head of the Vatican Cardinal Kevin Farrell EXPLAINER: How the next pope is chosen It came as a surprise to many – including Bergoglio himself – that he was elected to the highest office in the Catholic Church in the first place. At 76 years old at the time - one year older than the typical age of bishops and cardinals when they submit their resignation to the pope - he was not seen as a real candidate to fill the vacancy, according to analysts. "When he left Buenos Aires for the conclave, he seemed somewhat sad; he was getting ready to retire in a room at the Priests' Home in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Flores," Guillermo Marcó, a priest from the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, told Argentine newspaper Clarín. However, Bergoglio would soon begin a papacy that lasted 12 years. His death has been particularly keenly felt in his home country, where seven days of national mourning have been declared - as Argentina grieves a man many regarded as simple and humble, despite holding one of the most powerful offices in the world. Those qualities were praised by Elenir Ramazol, a nun who spoke to BBC Mundo during a vigil at the Buenos Aires cathedral on Monday. The fact he did not return to his homeland was "a sign of the total commitment he made to the whole Church, not just to his people, to his country", Ms Ramazol said. Gustavo Vera exchanged hundreds of letters with Francis, having become friends with him when he was still archbishop. He agreed that the pontiff always showed an enduring interest in what was happening in his home country. "Sometimes he commented on soccer, sometimes on tango, sometimes on cultural events," Mr Vera, the leader of La Alameda, an Argentine anti-trafficking and slavery organisation, said. Francis followed Argentine news "in detail", he added. During his papacy, Francis visited four of the five countries that border Argentina - but never his home country, despite continuing to take a keen interest in it. He was loved by many there who now mourn him, but others remember him as a controversial figure. The initial pride felt by most Argentines after the announcement that a fellow countryman would be the first Latin American pope gave way to disenchantment among some over the years. A Pew Research Center survey suggested that the proportion of people who held a positive view of the pontiff fell from 91% in 2013 to 64% in 2024. Of six Latin American countries surveyed, the largest drop in favourable attitudes was recorded in Argentina. Conservatives in Argentina accused him of undermining historical traditions they held sacred, while reformers hoped for more profound changes. Critics felt he failed to do enough to oppose the country's brutal military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s and to criticise the complicity of some figures in the Church. Every time he was asked about a possible trip, Pope Francis gave vague answers. "I would like to go. It's my people, but it hasn't been planned yet. There are several things to sort out first," he said the last time he was publicly asked about the subject, in September 2024. Some fellow Argentines found this hesitation difficult to understand. The pontiff's absence has been felt more acutely in recent years, as Argentina has endured a profound economic crisis, with annual inflation reaching nearly 300% and a sharp increase in poverty. Mr Vera suggests that Francis was planning to visit, but had not yet done so because he wanted to avoid his presence being used for political purposes. "He always used to say he would go to Argentina when he felt that he was an instrument to bring about national unity, to help overcome the rift, to try to bring Argentines back together," Mr Vera said. The "rift" refers to the vast, decades-long gulf in Argentine politics and society between supporters and opponents of the populist political movement Peronism, founded by late President Juan Perón in the 1940s. There is a widespread belief in the country that Pope Francis was a Peronist - something he denied in a book in 2023, while adding: "If we had a Peronist conception of politics, what would be wrong with that?" The comment was seized upon by conservative detractors who accused him of being too closely aligned with social justice causes and left-wing politics. Before taking office, Javier Milei, the current president who has demonised left-wing politics, even called Pope Francis "the representation of evil on Earth" - although he softened his tone after coming to power. The two had a cordial meeting in the Vatican and President Milei officially invited the pontiff to Argentina. And following the Pope's death, Milei said he was deeply pained by his loss, and praised the pontiff's benevolence and wisdom. Some Argentines accused him of being too close to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a divisive left-leaning populist politician, who was president from 2007 to 2015. But according to Mr Vera, the Pope met with people "from the whole political and social spectrum of Argentina". The late pontiff's friend also pointed out that, while there was some criticism of Pope Francis in the media and major urban centres, he was loved in other parts of the country. Although he maintained his connection with Argentina, Mr Vera said, Pope Francis no longer felt he belonged to just one country. "Argentines believe he was Argentinian, but in reality, he was a citizen of the world," he added. It is a view shared by Alejandra Castro, a social worker who was among the mourners who gathered on Monday night at Buenos Aires cathedral. Argentina was "always in his prayers", Ms Castro said. "In one way or another, he was always present, and I think that shows that in his heart, Argentina was always present." But Mr Vera acknowledged that not everyone felt the same way, and suggested it was up to Argentines to look within themselves for answers: "Rather than blaming Francis, we Argentines should ask ourselves what we were doing that meant we did not deserve the Pope's visit." 'God chose this day' - World's Catholics mourn Pope's Easter death Final days of Pope who joined Vatican crowds at Easter despite doctors' advice Watch: 'Our father has died' - World mourns for Pope Francis
