A grassroots movement came closer than ever to achieving the decriminalization of the procedure in the homeland of Pope Francis.

Forty million worldwide are believed to be caught in a trap of forced labor, including many millions who work in manufacturing, assembly, agriculture and food services.

In the rural community of Las Palmas, a group of former coca farmers are replacing coca production with legitimate crops in the hope of promoting peace.

“I get far more emails and phone calls about things like immigration, issues that are more politically controversial.”

It appears “there was somebody [who] dropped the ball.”

“The huge thing,” she said, is the recognition by the church of “the inviolable dignity even of guilty people who have done terrible crimes.”