In his November video, brought to you by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Francis invites us o pray for the “millions of boys and girls who suffer and live in conditions very similar to slavery,” and he asks us to open our eyes to “the exploitation of these children who don’t have a right to play, to study, to dream. They don’t even enjoy the warmth of a family. They don’t even have the warmth of a family.” “Those who are homeless, orphans, and victims of war”: the world is full of children without a childhood, and each of them – the Pope says in this video – is “a cry that rises up to God and shames the system that we adults have built.”
“There are still millions of boys and girls who suffer and live in conditions very similar to slavery.
They aren’t numbers: they are human beings with names, with a face of their own, with an identity that God has given them.
Too often, we forget our responsibility and we close our eyes to the exploitation of these children who don’t have a right to play, to study, to dream. They don’t even enjoy the warmth of a family.
Each marginalized child, abandoned by his or her family, without schooling, without healthcare, is a cry! A cry that rises up to God and shames the system that we adults have built.
An abandoned child is our fault.
We can no longer allow them to feel alone and abandoned -they are entitled to an education and to feel the love of a family so they know that God does not forget them.
Let us pray for children who are suffering, especially for those who are homeless, orphans, and victims of war. May they be guaranteed access to education and may they have the opportunity to experience family affection.”
