Paraphrasing Saint Paul II, Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez assured that many Salvadorans mistakenly think that gang members cannot change and have “demonized” them to such an extent that they are sentenced to jail.
“That is the most painful human drama. No person who believes in human dignity can agree to this policy. And it is striking that there is no rehabilitation component in the government proposal. The gang member has been demonized in such a way that he is destined to die in jail,” the religious man told the ALFA Y OMEGA supplement.
Rosa Chávez, who has been a critic of the current government, affirmed that the price of the tranquility enjoyed by the population is very high: “the violation of fundamental human rights.”
“The population has suffered so much from the scourge of the gangs that, gripped by fear, they think that if a gang member is released, they will go back to their old ways. Therefore, the option is to lock him up for life. What Saint John Paul II told us during his visit in March 1983 is fulfilled: It is mistakenly thought that no one can change”, added the Catholic prelate.