Pope urges Bishops to protect lives of children
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written to the Bishops of
the world condemning all forms of oppression and exploitation of children. His
words come in a letter signed on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, which takes
place each year on December 28, during the Octave of Christmas.
In his letter, the Holy Father calls the Bishops to foster
in hearts of Christians the joy that comes from the proclamation of the birth
of Christ. But in moving words, he notes that the Christmas story is also
accompanied by tears. “Today, too,” the Pope said, we hear this heart-rending
cry of pain, which we neither desire nor are able to ignore or to silence.” He
continued. “In our world – I write this with a heavy heart – we continue
to hear the lamentation of so many mothers, of so many families, for the death
of their children, their innocent children.”
Pope Francis speaks about the millions of children who are
deprived of education and whose innocence is shattered by wars and forced
immigation. He also once again begs forgiveness for the sufferings of children
who were sexually abused by priests, saying "it is a sin that shames the
Church."
Christian joy, he said, “is born from a call – the same call
that Saint Joseph received – to embrace and protect human life, especially that
of the holy innocents of our own day.” Pope Francis said the Bishops must find
new courage to protect children and to be more sensitive to what is happening
in the world around us.
Here is the full text of the Pope’s letter:
Dear Brother,
Today, on the feast of the Holy Innocents, as the words of
the angel to the shepherds still resound in our hearts – “I bring you good news
of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day
in the city of David a Saviour” (Lk 2: 10-11) – I feel the need to
write to you. We do well to listen to that proclamation again and again; to
hear over and over again that God is present in the midst of our people. This
certainty, which we renew each year, is the source of our joy and hope.
In these days we experience how the liturgy leads us to the
heart of Christmas, into the Mystery which gradually draws us to the source of
Christian joy.
As pastors, we are called to help foster this joy among the
faithful. We are charged with protecting this joy. I ask you once again that we
not let ourselves be robbed of this joy, for we can be disillusioned at times,
not unreasonably, with the world around us, with the Church, or even with
ourselves, and feel tempted to indulge in a certain melancholy, lacking in
hope, which can lay hold of our hearts (cf. Evangelii Gaudium 83).
Christmas is also accompanied, whether we like it or not, by
tears. The Evangelists did not disguise reality to make it more credible or
attractive. They did not indulge in words that were comforting but unrelated to
reality. For them, Christmas was not a flight to fantasy, a way of hiding from
the challenges and injustices of their day. On the contrary, they relate the
birth of the Son of God as an event fraught with tragedy and grief. Quoting the
prophet Jeremiah, Matthew presents it in the bluntest of terms: “A voice is
heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children”
(2:18). It is the sobbing of mothers bewailing the death of their children in
the face of Herod’s tyranny and unbridled thirst for power.
Today too, we hear this heart-rending cry of pain, which we
neither desire nor are able to ignore or to silence. In our world – I write
this with a heavy heart – we continue to hear the lamentation of so many
mothers, of so many families, for the death of their children, their innocent
children.
To contemplate the manger also means to contemplate this cry
of pain, to open our eyes and ears to what is going on around us, and to let
our hearts be attentive and open to the pain of our neighbours, especially
where children are involved. It also means realizing that that sad chapter in
history is still being written today. To contemplate the manger in isolation
from the world around us would make Christmas into a lovely story that inspires
warm feelings but robs us of the creative power of the Good News that the
Incarnate Word wants to give us. The temptation is real.
Can we truly experience Christian joy if we turn our backs
on these realities? Can Christian joy even exist if we ignore the cry of our
brothers and sisters, the cry of the children?
Saint Joseph was the first to be charged with protecting the
joy of salvation. Faced with the atrocious crimes that were taking place, Saint
Joseph – the model of an obedient and loyal man – was capable of recognizing
God’s voice and the mission entrusted to him by the Father. Because he was able
to hear God’s voice, and was docile to his will, Joseph became more conscious
of what was going on around him and was able to interpret these events
realistically.
The same thing is asked of us pastors today: to be men
attentive, and not deaf, to the voice of God, and hence more sensitive to what
is happening all around us. Today, with Saint Joseph as our model, we are asked
not to let ourselves be robbed of joy. We are asked to protect this joy from
the Herods of our own time. Like Joseph, we need the courage to respond to this
reality, to arise and take it firmly in hand (cf. Mt 2:20).
The courage to guard this joy from the new Herods of our time, who devour the
innocence of our children. An innocence robbed from them by the oppression of
illegal slave labour, prostitution and exploitation. An innocence shattered by
wars and forced immigration, with the great loss that this entails. Thousands
of our children have fallen into the hands of gangs, criminal organizations and
merchants of death, who only devour and exploit their neediness.
To illustrate this point, there are at present 75 million
children who, due to prolonged situations of emergency and crisis, have had to
interrupt their education. In 2015, 68% of all persons who were victims of
sexual exploitation were children. At the same time, a third of all children
who have to live outside their homelands do so because forcibly displaced. We
live in a world where almost half of the children who die under the age of five
do so because of malnutrition. It is estimated that in 2016 there were 150
million child labourers, many of whom live in conditions of slavery. According
to the most recent report presented by UNICEF, unless the world situation
changes, in 2030 there will be 167 million children living in extreme poverty,
69 million children under the age of five will die between 2016 and 2030, and
16 million children will not receive basic schooling.
We hear these children and their cries of pain; we also hear
the cry of the Church our Mother, who weeps not only for the pain caused to her
youngest sons and daughters, but also because she recognizes the sins of some
of her members: the sufferings, the experiences and the pain of minors who were
abused sexually by priests. It is a sin that shames us. Persons responsible for
the protection of those children destroyed their dignity. We regret this deeply
and we beg forgiveness. We join in the pain of the victims and weep for this
sin. The sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering
up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power. The Church also weeps bitterly
over this sin of her sons and she asks forgiveness. Today, as we commemorate
the feast of the Holy Innocents, I would like us to renew our complete
commitment to ensuring that these atrocities will no longer take place in our
midst. Let us find the courage needed to take all necessary measures and to
protect in every way the lives of our children, so that such crimes may never
be repeated. In this area, let us adhere, clearly and faithfully, to “zero
tolerance”.
Christian joy does not arise on the fringes of reality, by
ignoring it or acting as if it did not exist. Christian joy is born from a call
– the same call that Saint Joseph received – to embrace and protect human life,
especially that of the holy innocents of our own day. Christmas is a time that
challenges us to protect life, to help it be born and grow. It is a time that
challenges us as bishops to find new courage. The courage that generates
processes capable of acknowledging the reality that many of our children are
experiencing today, and working to ensure them the bare minimum needed so that
their dignity as God’s children will not only be respected but, above all,
defended.
Let us not allow them to be robbed of joy. Let us not allow
ourselves to be robbed of joy, but guard it and nourish its growth.
May we do this with the paternal fidelity of Saint Joseph
and guided by Mary, Mother of tender love, so that our own hearts may never
grow hard.
With fraternal affection,
FRANCIS
From the Vatican, 28 December 2016
Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs
Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs
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