The Argentine Catholic Church expressed his rejection to the initiative that seeks Reduce the age of imputability from 16 to 14 years. “It does not seem to us to lower age is adequate. Put into confinement a boy does not solve the root problem“said Monsignor Dante Braida, Bishop of La Rioja and president of the Social Pastoral Commission.
Their statements are produced on the eve of the Plenary Meeting of Commissions in the Chamber of Deputieswhere the ruling party entrusts to obtain favorable opinion for its downside project, thanks to a according to sectors of the UCR, the PRO, the MID and allied blocks. Although the original government proposal raised the 13 years as a new threshold, the text agreed finally is inclined to 14.
Braida, before this scenario, said in an interview released this Sunday that the response to the problem of youth crime cannot be merely punitive. “We believe it is a reality that must be addressed in a broad, multisectoral wayto go to the causes of why such a small person could reach these instances of such serious crimes, “he explained.
The Bishop of La Rioja – according to the Argentine News Agency – warned about the negative consequences of imprisoning adolescents, pointing out that “what these boys need” are opportunities.
“We do not believe that the solution is criminal, but rather to offer instances of recovery and prevention“He added.
“Our penitentiary regimes are crowded and many times in prisons the problems are enhanced,” he said. “Putting into a situation of a boy does not solve the root problem,” he insisted.
The bishop also warned about the “structural deficiencies” of the current system, coinciding with legislators indicating the Lack of adequate places for the arrest of minors. In fact, none of the discussion projects contemplate specific budget items for the construction of detention centers for young people.
The church’s gaze on the punishability, explained Braida, is not exclusive to the institution that he represents: “It is a position that is not only from the Church, but also of many organizations,” said the bishop, who urged to avoid hurried responses to a complex problem, since “The problem requires time and an openness to a broader approach”.
In this context, he directed a direct message to President Javier Milei and the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich: “That they can give time for all social sectors to give their opinion and also Provide diverse proposals to really attack the problem, going to the causes. We need many more voices to express themselves, because that will also illuminate us where we have to go, “he concluded.
