(LiCAS News): According to a report by Vatican News, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, delivered the remarks on May 13 during the informal interactive dialogue “On Childhood With Dignity: Eliminating Child Labour in All Its Forms, Including Forced Recruitment and Use of Children in Armed Conflict.”
Archbishop Caccia opened his address by quoting Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum [Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour], saying, “For, just as very rough weather destroys the buds of spring, so does too early an experience of life’s hard toil blight the young promise of a child’s faculties, and render any true education impossible.”
With one in ten children globally still trapped in exploitative situations, he said there is an urgent need for international action.
“Every child is a unique gift of God to the human family,” the archbishop said, stressing that each must “grow up in an environment that respects the dignity, protects the fundamental rights, and promotes the integral development of the child.”
He condemned the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts as “a grave violation of their inherent human dignity” and “a direct affront to their fundamental rights.” He also cited other abuses, including forced marriage and sexual exploitation.
Archbishop Caccia called for “the immediate and unconditional release of all children” in such situations and said they must be treated “first and foremost as victims in need of compassion, care, and hope.”
He added that children with disabilities face heightened vulnerability and require “inclusive and comprehensive protective measures.”
The archbishop concluded by affirming the Holy See’s support for global initiatives that ensure “sustained access to healthcare, quality education and opportunities that enable each child to thrive and contribute meaningfully to society.”
