In a recent video, Pope Francis invited everyone to pray for the children who are suffering. This is also his prayer intention for November. The pope looked solemn and sad in the video, saying, “There are still millions of boys and girls who suffer and live in conditions very similar to slavery. These children are not numbers, but human beings with names and an identity that God has given them.”
Indeed, children are the most vulnerable group in society. They have been ravaged by war, forced to leave familiar places, separated from their loved ones, and even witnessed the death of close relatives or good friends. According to the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF, since the end of February this year, about 6.6 million people have fled Ukraine; half of them are children. Also, more than eight million people in the war ravaged country have been left homeless.
In fact, many children all over the world are in different types of inhuman plights. Other than wars, there is also human trafficking, slavery, sexual violence, child soldiers, child labour, and more, causing indelible physical and mental trauma to these young ones.
Too often, we have forgotten our social responsibilities and have turned a blind eye to what happened to these children. “Every marginalised child living without a family, without schooling, without health care is a cry. A cry that rises up to God and shames the system that we adults have built. It is our fault that children are abandoned.” Pope Francis said, speaking for the children.
The Aid to the Church in Need organised the One Million children praying the rosary campaign on October 18 to intercede for peace and unity throughout the world. This enabled children to get to know and understand people in different corners of the world, to pray for each other, and to pray through the intercession of Mother Mary. This is so meaningful.
Pope Francis loves young people and welcomes them to come to him. He met with members of the Frontier Community, a group that reaches out to disadvantaged and misguided youth, in late October. Their motto is: There are no bad boys, but there are those who have not had the chance to know good. The group works mainly in southern Italy, where the mafia is known to be rampant. It adopts an approach of closeness, tenderness and compassion to get in touch with young people, stay with them, take them off the streets, and educate them to serve God and their neighbours, rather than focusing on their own interests. In the province of Bari in the eastern part of Italy, the group created a “city of young people,” which is recognised by Italy’s Ministry of the Interior.
Let us pray for the children who suffer, and appeal to God to grant them peace, so they may enjoy their rightful dignity in Christ. SE
