General Audience at Saint Peter's
Square on Wednesday, 8 April 2015.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good
morning,
In this series
of Catecheses on the family, today we are completing our reflection on
children, who are the most beautiful gift and blessing that the Creator has
given to man and woman. We have already spoken about the great gift that
children are. Today sadly we must speak about the “passions” which many of them
endure.
From the first
moments of their lives, many children are rejected, abandoned, and robbed of
their childhood and future. There are those who dare to say, as if to justify
themselves, that it was a mistake to bring these children into the world. This
is shameful! Let’s not unload our faults onto the children, please! Children
are never a “mistake”. Their hunger is not a mistake, nor is their poverty,
their vulnerability, their abandonment — so many children abandoned on the
streets — and neither is their ignorance or their helplessness... so many
children don’t even know what a school is. If anything, these should be reasons
to love them all the more, with greater generosity. How can we make such solemn
declarations on human rights and the rights of children, if we then punish
children for the errors of adults?
Those
who have the task of governing, of educating, but I would say all adults, we
are responsible for children and for doing what we can to change this
situation. I am referring to “the passion” of children. Every child who is
marginalized, abandoned, who lives on the street begging with every kind of
trick, without schooling, without medical care, is a cry that rises up to God
and denounces the system that we adults have set in place. And unfortunately
these children are prey to criminals who exploit them for shameful trafficking
or commerce, or train them for war and violence. But even in so-called wealthy
countries many children live in dramatic situations that scar them deeply
because of crises in the family, educational gaps and at times inhuman living
conditions. In every case, their childhood is violated in body and soul. But
none of these children are forgotten by the Father who is in heaven! Not one of
their tears is lost! Neither is our responsibility lost, the social
responsibility of people, of each one of us, and of countries.
Once
Jesus rebuked his disciples because they sent away the children whose parents
brought them to Him to be blessed. It is a moving Gospel narrative: “Then
children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The
disciples rebuked the people; but Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and
do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his
hands on them and went away” (Mt 19:13-15). How beautiful is this trust of the
parents and Jesus’ response! How I would like this passage to become the norm
for all children! It is true that by the grace of God children in grave
difficulty are often given extraordinary parents, ready and willing to make
every sacrifice. But these parents should not be left alone! We should
accompany them in their toil, and also offer them moments of shared joy and
lighthearted cheer, so that they are not left with only routine therapy.
When
it comes to children, no matter what, there should be no utterance of those
legal defense-like formulas: “after all, we are not a charity”, or, “in
private, everyone is free to do as he or she wishes”, or even, “we’re sorry but
we can’t do anything”. These words do not count when it comes to children.
Too
often the effects of a life worn down by precarious and underpaid work,
unsustainable hours, bad transport rebound on the children.... Children also
pay the price for immature unions and irresponsible separations: they are the
first victims; they suffer the outcome of a culture of exaggerated individual
rights, and then the children become more precocious. They often absorb the
violence they are not able to “ward off” and before the very eyes of adults are
forced to grow accustomed to degradation.
Also
in our age, as in the past, the Church sets her motherhood at the service of
children and their families. To parents and children of this world of ours, she
bears the blessing of God, motherly tenderness, a firm reproach and strong
condemnation. Children are no laughing matter!
Think
what a society would be like if it decided, once and for all, to establish this
principle: “It’s true, we are not perfect and we make many mistakes. But when
it comes to the children who come into the world, no sacrifice on the part of
adults is too costly or too great, to ensure that no child believe he or she
was a mistake, is worthless or is abandoned to a life of wounds and to the
arrogance of men”. How beautiful a society like this would be! I say that for
such a society, much could be forgiven, innumerable errors. Truly a great deal.
The
Lord judges our life according to what the angels of children tell him, angels who
“always behold the face of the Father who is in heaven” (cf. Mt 18:10). Let us
always ask ourselves: what will the children’s guardian angels tell God about
us?
Special greetings:
I
offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and
visitors present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Ireland,
Sweden, Nigeria, Japan, Thailand, Canada and the United States. May the Risen
Lord confirm you in faith and make you witnesses of his love and mercy to all
people. May God bless you!
I
send out a special thought to young people, to the sick and to newlyweds. May
the Easter message continue to make the hearts in our chests burn, like the
disciples at Emmaus: dear young people, only the Lord Jesus can respond
completely to your hopes for happiness and for the good of your life; dear sick
people, there is no more beautiful consolation to your suffering than the
certainty of Christ’s Resurrection; and you, dear newlyweds, live out your
marriage in concrete adhesion to Christ and to the teachings of the Gospel.
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