At what age is one guilty
of a crime?
For some time now, I have been dealing with a resonant phenomenon recorded by the media: crimes committed by minors. In an article titled, in lunfardo terms, “pibes chorros,” I analyzed the causes of the problem: “no family, no school, no Church.” From a well-constituted and harmonious family, thieving children do not emerge. In most cases, the “pibes chorros” have not completed primary studies. Even in school secularism, the distinction between good and evil is generally clearly pointed out. As for the relationship with the Church, although they are baptized, in most cases they have not received complete catechesis nor have they made their First (and in countless occasions, only) Communion.
It is very common nowadays for minors to kill: I titled my commentary “Minor assassins”; amazed by the repercussion gathered in the media and on social networks. In this case, the cause seemed to me to be the loss of the sense of life, of the incomparable value of human life. Society ends up getting used to there being crimes perpetrated by minors.
Now the problem of lowering the age of criminal responsibility is officially raised, which according to Argentine legislation is 16 years; various parties propose that it be at 14, or 13 or 12. They are false solutions; would prisons for minors be multiplied? The real problem is recovery for a normal life, for growth until adulthood. It is important to complete school instruction; but above all the learning of trades, which has been neglected. Nowadays it is difficult to find a plumber, or a gas fitter, or a bricklayer. It was an illusion to present the humanities as an ideal, to the detriment of learning manual trades. The problem will worsen in the coming years, with the collapse of the birth rate, and the aging of the population. And, of course, with the almost null care of the work culture.
It is up to the government and Congress to have a complete vision of social reality; and for that, a well-constituted family must be fostered, which is the first sphere of education. And, of course, the abortion law must be repealed; and so many other nefarious norms that have declared war on marriage, the family, and unborn children. The family composed of a working father and a mother who takes care of the home does not produce either “pibes chorros” or “minor assassins.” The media, which record crimes committed by minors, imply a possibility of imitation if there is no strong censorship of evil. The discussion on the age of criminal responsibility should take into account the problems that we have pointed out in this note.
+ Héctor Aguer
Emeritus Archbishop of La Plata.
Buenos Aires, Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
Our Lady of Lourdes. –