In preparation for Pope Francis' visit to Manila, the Filipino police arrested hundreds of homeless children to "stop gangs of beggars targeting the Pope." Most of these children have never committed a single crime - being born on the streets does not make them criminals!
This would be terrible under any circumstances, but it is especially tragic and ironic now. Pope Francis has been very kind to the homeless, even visiting them in the middle of the night dressed as a regular priest. If he knew what happened in preparation for his visit to Manila, surely he would denounce the practice and call on the Filipino government to reform its treatment of the poor!
Sign the petition today: Ask Pope Francis to speak out on behalf of the jailed Filipinio homeless children!
According to Time Magazine, the Filipino government routinely rounds up homeless children, and there was an uptick in arrests for the Pope's visit. "Children are summarily kept for anything up to three months without charge, with little ones sharing cells with young adults. Many fall prey to serious sexual and physical abuse: Kids just eight-years-old are often tormented into performing sex acts."
SCMP Magazine calls this "a blatant violation of the country’s child-protection laws." It is an even bigger violation of the children's human rights.
Pope Francis can pressure the Filipino and Manila governments about this crime - let's get 50,000 100,000 signatures alerting him to this atrocity so he can take action!
