Pope Leo XIV condemns the violence in Uruguay and urges young people to start families

Pope Leo XIV condemned, on Saturday, the deaths of children in a violence-affected neighborhood in Uruguay and urged young people to “dare” to marry and start a family. The pontiff is on the second day of his visit to South America, a tour that also includes Argentina and Peru.

During his visit to Casavalle, the Montevideo neighborhood with the highest homicide rate in the country, the pope denounced poverty and clashes between gangs involved in drug trafficking. He stated that no child should go to sleep hungry or be exposed to violence to the point of losing their life. According to UNICEF, four in ten children in Uruguay live in poverty.

Leo XIV urged young people to take the step toward marriage and family life, amid declining birth rates in Latin America. At a prayer vigil held at Centenario Stadium, he also spoke about the decline of Catholicism and the spread of secularization.

On the same day, the pope warned that the use of artificial intelligence in education could contribute to “dehumanization,” urging schools and universities to put the person before the algorithm. On Sunday, he was scheduled to visit the city of Florida before departing for Argentina.