Who is Loan, the kidnapped five-year-old Argentine boy whom the Pope remembered in his audience

The Pope was talking about the drama of abused children or those who “tragically find themselves forced to become ‘executioners’ of other classmates, in addition to harming themselves, their dignity and their humanity.” “However, when on the street, in the neighborhood, these lost lives are offered to our gaze, we often look the other way,” he lamented.

«There is also a case in my country, a child named Loan who was kidnapped and it is not known where he is. One of the hypotheses is that they sent him to extract organs, to perform transplants. This is done, so you know. This is done! Some return with a scar, others die. That’s why I would like to remember this boy today, Loan,” Francisco said this Wednesday.

A mysterious lunch with his grandmother and uncles

Loan was last seen alive during a lunch with his grandmother and uncles on June 13, 2024, in the Algarrobal area of ​​the province of Corrientes, 8 km from his home. As the Pope has said, the police consider that it is most likely a case of trafficking of minors. There are currently seven people detained in connection with the disappearance, but no conclusive clues have been found about what happened.

The boy had traveled on horseback with his father to participate in a family lunch at his paternal grandmother’s house, whom the little boy had not seen for three years. Eight adults, who were relatives and friends, and five children participated in the lunch. After the meal, some adults went with the minors to pick oranges. They took little Loan with them without telling his father, and during the excursion the little boy disappeared. He was last seen around 2:20 p.m.

The alert for the disappearance was activated 23 hours later, without giving results, and three days later the international alarm was raised. On June 16, while 400 people participated in the search, one of the little boy’s shoes was found, buried in the mud, 5 km from the place of disappearance. A week later, prosecutors confirmed that Loan “had never been there” and that it was a clue built to mislead and give the impression that the child had wandered off.

In addition, dozens of calls made with the cell phone of the boy’s 86-year-old grandmother in the immediate hours after the disappearance were mysteriously deleted, further complicating the case. More than six months have passed and no one explains what happened. Loan is still missing, without a trace.

“Fighting exploitation, especially that of children, is the main way to build a better future for all of society,” the Pope stressed. «Some countries have had the wisdom to write down children’s rights. Children have rights. Search for yourselves on the Internet what the rights of the child are,” he added.

Boycott brands that use child labor

The Pope added that “if we want to eradicate child labor, we cannot be its accomplices.” He referred to “when we buy products that use child labor.” “How can I eat and dress knowing that behind that food or those clothes there are exploited children, who work instead of going to school?” he added.

«Being aware of what we buy is a first act to avoid being complicit. See where those products come from. Some will say that as individuals we can’t do much. It is true, but each one can be a drop that, together with many other drops, can become a sea,” he noted. “Thank you to all those who do not look the other way when they see children forced to become adults too soon,” he concluded.