Pope calls for greater awareness to combat child labour

Meeting pilgrims in the Paul VI Hall he recalled the millions of children exposed to dangerous activities despite their young age or kidnapped for organ transplants. Proximity to the populations of Kachin State in Myanmar where landslides have sown death and destruction. ‘We pray for the conversion of the hearts of arms manufacturers’.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - ‘No child should be abused. Even one case is already too many’. Pope Francis returned to denounce this today in the Wednesday audience held in the Paul VI Hall. With his voice still cold, the pontiff nevertheless personally pronounced his reflection that, as announced last week, in this Christmas season is dedicated to children ‘the most loved by the Lord’. On the other hand, ‘even today in the world,’ the Pontiff recalled, ‘hundreds of millions of minors, despite not having the minimum age to be subject to the obligations of adulthood, are forced to work and many of them are exposed to particularly dangerous work. Not to mention the boys and girls who are slaves of trafficking for prostitution or pornography, and forced marriages'.

Francis dwelt in particular on the scourge of child labour: ‘I know a country in Latin America (Colombia ed.) - he said in addition to the written text - where a special fruit grows called arandano, a kind of blueberry. It takes tender hands to harvest thearandano and they make children do it, they enslave them as children to harvest it'. ‘Widespread poverty, the lack of social tools to support families, marginality that has increased in recent years along with unemployment and job insecurity,’ the pope commented, ‘are factors that burden the youngest with the greatest price to pay. In the metropolises, where the social divide and moral degradation ‘bite’, there are children employed in drug dealing and the most diverse illicit activities. How many of these kids have we seen fall as sacrificial victims'.

He then cited the story of Loan Danilo Peña, a five-year-old boy from the province of Corrientes, in northern Argentina, who has not been heard from since last June. ‘He was kidnapped and his whereabouts are unknown,’ he commented. ’And one of the hypotheses is that he was sent to remove organs, to do transplants. This is done. You know very well. Some come back with a scar, others die. That is why I would like to remember this boy Loan today. It costs us,' Francis added, ’to recognise the social injustice that drives two children, perhaps living in the same neighbourhood or apartment block, to take diametrically opposed paths and destinies, because one of them was born into a disadvantaged family. An unacceptable human and social divide: between those who can dream and those who must succumb. But Jesus wants us all free and happy.

In the face of such widespread plagues, what can I do? ‘First of all,’ replied the pontiff, ’we should recognise that we cannot be accomplices. And when are we? For example when we buy products that use children's labour. How can I eat and dress knowing that behind that food or those clothes there are exploited children, who work instead of going to school? Awareness about what we buy is a first act in order not to be complicit'. However, institutions, including Church institutions, and businesses must also be called to their responsibility: ‘they can make a difference by shifting their investments towards companies that do not use and do not allow child labour’, said Francis, who also called on journalists ‘to do their part: they can contribute to making the problem known and help find solutions. Do not be afraid: denounce these things’.

Finally, he cited the example of St. Teresa of Calcutta, ‘mother of the most disadvantaged and forgotten children,’ citing a prayer in which she gave them a voice: ‘I ask for the right to be a child,’ she wrote, ‘to be hope for a better world. I ask to be able to grow as a person. Can I count on you?’

At the end of the catechesis, the Pope wanted to express his closeness to the people of Kachin State in Myanmar, where in the town of Hpakant, a landslide in a mining area swept away about fifty houses, killing at least 12 people and causing other missing people and extensive damage. ‘I am close to the people affected by this disaster,’ he said, ’and I pray for those who have lost their lives and for their families. May these brothers and sisters who are in the ordeal not lack the support and solidarity of the international community'.

Myanmar, along with Israel and Palestine, the tormented Ukraine and Sudan were also in the pope's thoughts today as he recalled the countries at war, for which he urged continued prayer invoking peace. ‘War is always a defeat’, he added, inviting today in particular to pray “for the conversion of the hearts of the manufacturers of weapons because with their product they help to kill”.

A moment of celebration today was brought to the Paul VI Hall by the artists of a circus present in Rome these days, who briefly performed before the pope and the pilgrims. ‘The work of the circus is a human work, of art, which requires a lot of effort,’ said Francis praising their performance.