Pope Francis claims against the nationalist interests that kill children under bombs

Pope Francis cried out against the “nationalist interests” that kill children under the bombs and condemned that many of them die “as emigrants in the sea” or for the violence “between criminal gangs.”

In his opening speech of the International Summit on the Rights of the Child entitled Let’s love them and protect them In the apostolic palace of the Vatican, the Pontiff also condemned “murderous practices” such as abortion and denounced that many minors in the world “succumb to the lack of care or various types of exploitation.”

“Abortion suppresses the life of children and cuts the source of hope of the whole society,” he claimed.

The Holy Father also regretted that many others “die in the desert or in the multiple travel routes of desperate hope.”

“Killing the little ones is to deny the future. In some cases, children themselves are forced to fight under the effects of drugs. Even in countries where there is no war, violence between criminal gangs is equally mortal for children already leaves them orphans and marginalized, ”he insisted.

He also made it clear that even the world “richer is not immune to injustice” and found the existence of other problems related to mental health.

“To a greater extent than in the past, schools and health services have to deal with children who already experience many difficulties, with young people with anxiety or depression, with adolescents who take the path of aggressiveness or self -harm,” he said.

In this way, he cried against the “exaggerated individualism” of developed countries and said that children in these contexts “are mistreated or even repressed by those who should protect and raise them.”

He added: “They are victims of fights, social or mental anguish and parents’ addictions.”

Next, Pope Francis urged those present to ask: “How is it possible that a child’s life ends like this?”

The pontiff expressed himself to different personalities such as Queen Rania de Jordan; Italian life senator Liliana Segre, survivor of the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz; Indian activist, Kailash Satyarthi, Premio Nobel Peace in 2014; or Al Gore, former US president.

“It is not acceptable and we must resist habituation. The denied childhood is a silent cry that denounces the injustice of the economic system, the crime of wars, the lack of medical care and schooling, ”he said.

Thus, he criticized certain media dynamics that “tend to make insensitive humanity, causing a general hardening of mentalities.”

“We run the risk of losing the noblest of the human heart: piety, mercy,” he regretted when he opened this event organized in the Vatican Clementine room by the Pontifical Committee for the World Children’s Day.

Pope Francis denounces dramatic childhood situations in the world

The Holy Father took advantage of his speech to review the serious situations that children must face in many parts of the world.

In this way, he pointed out that there are more than forty million children who are displaced by conflicts and that about one hundred million have no home.

He also mentioned the drama of child slavery. “About one hundred sixty million children are victims of forced labor, trafficking, abuse and exploitation of all kinds, including forced marriages,” he said.

On the other hand, he cited the “serious” phenomenon of the millions of migrant children who travel alone as well as the problem that they do not have legal documents.

“Many other minors live in limbo because they have not been registered at birth. It is estimated that about one hundred and fifty million invisible children have no legal existence, ”he said after focusing on practical consequences such as lack of access to education or health care.

He also indicated that, having no protection of the law, “they can easily be victims of abuse or sold as slaves.”

And he added: “We remember young people rohingya, That they often fight to be registered, undocumented children on the border with the United States, the first victims of that exodus of despair and hope of thousands that rise from the south to the United States, and many others. ”

In the same way he criticized the “logic of discard” in which the human being “becomes omnipotent, life is not born is sacrificed through the murderous practice of abortion.”

The Vatican hopes that this event will help build a platform capable of addressing the most pressing issues related to children’s rights, while promoting international collaboration for a safer and more equitable future world for children around the world.