Families of Crime Victims Write Open Letter to Pope

A group of family members representing victims of crime and insecurity in Argentina addressed an open letter to the leader of the Catholic Church ahead of his expected visit to the country. Led by Viviam Perrone, the mother of a teenager killed in a traffic collision, the signatories chose to ask for spiritual remembrance rather than seeking a meeting.

Perrone explained that the group decided against asking for an audience during the papal trip because they felt it inappropriate to continue begging for a meeting after years of seeking justice. Instead, they asked the pontiff to offer a prayer for the souls of those lost to criminal acts and for the families left behind to cope with the lifelong sentence of grief.

The letter highlights a sense of abandonment felt by grieving relatives, noting that while pastoral visits frequently bring hope to individuals inside correctional facilities, families of crime victims often feel overlooked by society and institutions. The signatories emphasized that they do not seek special privileges or wish to burden a busy schedule, but rather hope for empathy and spiritual support.

“We, the undersigned, family members of victims of crime, raise our voice to request that the Church, through its leader, be also an example of containment and accompaniment for those who must live with a sentence we did not choose,” the document states, according to the participants. They added that just as Jesus reached out to the suffering and rejected, they too often feel forgotten.

Viviam Perrone founded the civil association Mothers of Pain in 2004 following the death of her fourteen-year-old son, Kevin Sedano, who was struck by a vehicle and died days later. She noted that the strength to keep fighting comes from the memory of their children and the hope that they are at peace.

The open letter gained the backing of numerous prominent figures involved in the struggle for justice across Argentina. Among the cosigners are family members of other notable victims, including Ángeles Rawson, Soledad Bargna, Paulina Lebbos, Lucila Yaconis, and Marcela Iglesias, uniting diverse voices in a shared plea for recognition and prayer.