VATICAN CITY
Associated Press
BY FRANCES D’EMILIO
ASSOCIATED PRESS
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will visit Chile and Peru in 2018, the Vatican announced Monday.
The Holy See said Francis will visit Chile from Jan. 15-18, then head to Peru, where he’ll stay until Jan. 21. The cities on the Argentine-born pontiff’s itinerary include Santiago, Temuco and Iquique in Chile and Lima, Puerto Maldonado and Trujillo in Peru, with details of his schedule to be announced later.
Puerto Maldonado is the capital city of Peru’s Madre de Dios region, an epicenter of illegal gold mining, a lucrative business which feeds criminal activity such as sex trafficking, including of minors. Francis in his papacy has repeatedly denounced trafficking and the exploitation of children.
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