CHILDREN OF THE WORLD

 

                                                Phung Wang - Vietnam

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of November is “to pray for the millions of CHILDREN who are suffering around the world, especially for those who are homeless, orphans, and victims of war”.

 Pope Francis calls on all Catholics to pray for children who are suffering due to rejection, indigence, poverty, and conflict around the world.

 “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.

 Every marginalized child living without schooling, without a family, without health care, the Pope continued, is “a cry;” a cry “that rises up to God and shames the system that we adults have built.

 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.”

 According to UNICEF, one billion children currently live in poverty, without basic access to education, health care, shelter, food, sanitation, or water. They estimate that 153 million children are orphans.

  “(We must) open our eyes, ears, and hearts to millions of forgotten children who suffer in silence on the streets and in hidden labor, victims of violence and war, migrants and refugees. In the face of indifference and impotence, we must pray.

It is our responsibility,  that no child feels left alone or abandoned — they are entitled to an education and to feel the love of a family so they know that God does not forget them.”