Pope Francis on Wednesday denounced the “scourge” of kid labor and other abuses suffered by children, saying anyone who harms or exploits a toddler may have to reply to God.
Francis dedicated his first catechism lesson of 2025 to the plight of youngsters, telling his weekly general audience that the faithful cannot remain indifferent to the issue of kid labor.
“Children occupy a privileged place in God’s heart, and whoever harms them will probably be accountable to him,” he said.
Francis has ceaselessly decried child labor, especially during his foreign trips. During his 2023 visit to Congo, he denounced how foreign powers and mining interests used children to extract Congo’s precious natural resources, saying they were plundering the continent for the “poison of their very own greed.”
“Let us think what number of children are dying due to hunger, catastrophes, diseases and wars,” he said on Wednesday. “We must firmly prevent and condemn any abuse that minors may suffer.”
Francis didn’t refer explicitly to the sexual abuse of youngsters by priests, a scandal that has convulsed the Catholic Church for many years.
The 88-year-old pope sounded congested throughout the audience and skipped about half his prepared text. However, he seemed entertained by a performance by an African-themed circus troupe, CircAfrica. The group, which has been performing in Rome, brought acrobats, robot-operated puppet elephants, jugglers and dancers on rollerskates to perform for the pope within the Vatican auditorium.
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