Vatican: Pope Francis has made an urgent call for action to be taken against those who profit from the exploitation of child migrants.

In a strongly worded message released ahead of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, the Pope has focused on the plight and the rights of the growing numbers of child migrants who are the most vulnerable in the hands of human traffickers.

Introducing his message with the words of the evangelists “whoever receives one such child in my name receives me”, Pope Francis says the Gospel also speaks of the responsibility and of the evil of those who work against mercy by harming young girls and boys whom today, he said  “are led into prostitution or into the mire of pornography; who are enslaved as child labourers or soldiers; who are caught up in drug trafficking and other forms of criminality; who are forced to flee from conflict and persecution, risking isolation and abandonment”.

So, drawing attention to the reality of child migrants – especially the ones who are alone – the Pope
asks everyone to take care of the young, “who in a threefold way are defenceless: they are children, they are foreigners, and they have no means to protect themselves”.

And pointing that emigration is almost always caused by violence, poverty, environmental conditions, as well as the negative aspects of globalization, Pope Francis said “the unrestrained competition for quick and easy profit brings with it the cultivation of perverse scourges such as child trafficking, the exploitation and abuse of minors” whom he described as the most vulnerable as they are “invisible and voiceless” as their precarious situation deprives them of documentation, hiding them from the world’s eyes.

That’s why he said “migrant children easily end up at the lowest levels of human degradation, where illegality and violence destroy the future of too many innocents, while the network of child abuse is difficult to break up”.

The Pope’s message concludes with a powerful appeal to take action against those who profit from the exploitation of children with the adoption of adequate policies aimed at assistance and inclusion.

He urged leaders who implement the right of states to control migratory movement and to protect the common good of the nation to do so in conjunction with the duty to resolve and regularize the situation of child migrants, fully respecting their dignity and seeking to meet their needs.

And he making a heartfelt appeal for long-term solutions that must be sought and adopted, the Pope said it is absolutely necessary, therefore, to deal with the causes which trigger migrations in the countries of origin.  This – he said – requires, as a first step, the commitment of the whole international community to eliminate the conflicts and violence that force people to flee.

And pointing out that development should promote “the good of boys and girls, who are humanity’s hope”. Francis addressed a word to each of us who walk alongside migrant children and young people: they need our help”.

Do not tire – he said – of courageously living the Gospel, which calls you to recognize and welcome the Lord Jesus among the smallest and most vulnerable.

 

 

source: news.va