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Before many of the 327 workers fired by Prosegur Paraguay, in Sunday mass in the city Asuncion, Pope Francis asked for empathy for "the persecuted and the unemployed”. This month is the third anniversary of the mass dismissal of 327 unionized workers by Prosegur in Paraguay.

During the papal visit to the country, fired Prosegur workers and their families stood in the street, and at masses, with signs demanding justice at Prosegur.

During his Sunday mass in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion, the Pope criticized “selfishness” in contemporary culture saying, “[society should] depart from the logic of selfishness, closure, struggle, division and superiority ... to the logic of life, gratitude and love. From the logic of domination, crushing others and manipulation to the logic of welcoming, receiving and caring. These are are two logics that are at stake”.

Prosegur workers identified with the words of the Pope having been fired for conducting a legal strike. Today, three years later, many workers have still not received an explanation from the company for its actions, and many are still without work.

During his trip to Latin America, the Pope criticized the current economic political order. He called capitalism and systematic greed for money a "subtle dictatorship" and a major cause of global injustice. He made the case that, “economic development must have a human face, not a faceless economy. In their hands is the possibility of offering work to many people and so give hope to many families. They are necessary aspects of human dignity.” Dignity and justice is what Paraguayan workers have been asking of Prosegur for the last three years.

Pope Francis’ Latin American tour culminated in Asuncion, Paraguay yesterday, after an eight-day visit to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. The Paraguayan SITEPROPASA union and UNI will continue to demand justice and the reinstatement of all workers who lost their jobs.