pain of marital separations and the birth of children out of wedlock, frequently
doomed to a life of 'vagrancy'. Street children and street women are not
numbers, or 'packets' to be traded; they are human beings, each with his or her
own name and face, each with a God-given identity".
 "No child chooses to live on the streets. Sadly, even in our modern, globalised
world, many children continue to be robbed of their childhood, their rights and
their future. Lack of legal protection and adequate structures only aggravates
their state of deprivation: they have no real family or access to education or
health care. Every child abandoned or forced to live on the streets, at the
mercy of criminal organisations, is a cry rising up to God, Who created man and
woman in His own image. It is an indictment of a social system which we have
criticised for decades, but which we find hard to change in conformity with
criteria of justice".
 He also spoke about the troubling increase in the number of young girls and
women forced to earn a living on the street by selling their own bodies, victims
of exploitation by criminal organisations and at times by parents and family
members. "This is a shameful reality in our societies, which boast of being
modern and possessed of high levels of culture and development. Widespread
corruption and unrestrained greed are robbing the innocent and the vulnerable of
the possibility of a dignified life, abetting the crime of trafficking and other
injustices which they have to endure. No one can remain unmoved before the
pressing need to safeguard the dignity of women, threatened by cultural and
economic factors".
 He asked, "please: do not be disheartened by the difficulties and the
challenges which you encounter in your dedicated work, nourished as it is by
your faith in Christ, Who showed, even to death on the cross, the preferential
love of God our Father for the weak and the outcast. The Church cannot remain
silent, nor can her institutions turn a blind eye to the baneful reality of
street children and street women. The Christian community in the various
countries needs to be involved at all levels in working to eliminate everything
which forces a child or a woman to live on the street or to earn a livelihood on
the street. We can never refrain from bringing to all, and especially to the
most vulnerable and underprivileged, the goodness and the tenderness of God our
merciful Father. Mercy is the supreme act by which God comes to meet us; it is
the way which opens our hearts to the hope of an everlasting love".
 The Holy Father concluded by offering to the participants in the congress
"prayerful good wishes for the fruitfulness of your efforts, in your various
countries, to offer pastoral and spiritual care, and liberation, to those who
are most frail and exploited; I likewise pray for the fruitfulness of your
mission to advance and protect their personhood and dignity".

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 The Pope: no-one can remain oblivious to the atrocities and human rights
violations in Syria and Iraq
 Vatican City, 17 September 2015 (VIS) - "One of the most overwhelming human
tragedies of recent decades are the terrible consequences that the conflicts in
Syria and Iraq have on civilian populations as well as on cultural heritage.
Millions of people are in distressing state of urgent need. They are forced to
leave their native lands. Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey today carry the weight of
millions of refugees, which they have generously received. Faced with such a
situation and conflicts that are expanding and disturbing in an alarming way the
internal and regional equilibrium, the international community seems unable to
find adequate solutions while the arms dealers continue to achieve their
interests".
 With these words the Pope addressed the participants in the meeting on the
humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq, organised by the Pontifical Council "Cor
Unum", attended by Catholic charitable bodies and the bishops of the region,
among others, and to which more than thirty organisations have lent their
support.
 Francis went on to emphasise that "today, unlike in the past, atrocities and
unspeakable human rights violations, which characterise these conflicts, are
transmitted live by the media. Therefore, they captured the attention of the
whole world. No one can pretend not to know! Everyone is aware that this war
weighs in an increasingly unbearable way on the shoulders of the poor. We need
to find a solution, which is never a violent one, because violence only creates
new wounds".
 In this "ocean of pain", he urged the attendees at the meeting
to give special
attention to the material and spiritual needs of the weakest and most
defenceless: "I think particularly of the families, the elderly, the sick and
the children. Children and young people, the hope of the future, are deprived of
basic rights: to grow up in the serenity of the family, to be looked after and
cared for, to play and study. With the continuation of the conflict, millions of
children are deprived of the right to education and, consequently, they see the
horizon of their future becoming obscured. Do not miss your commitment in this
vital area".
 "There are many victims of this conflict: I think in all of them and I pray for
all. However, I cannot fail to mention the serious harm to the Christian
communities in Syria and Iraq, where many brothers and sisters are oppressed
because of their faith, driven from their land, kept in prison or even killed.
For centuries, the Christian and Muslim communities have lived together in these
lands on the basis of mutual respect. Today the very legitimacy of the presence
of Christians and other religious minorities is denied in the name of a 'violent
fundamentalism claiming to be based on religion'. Yet, the Church responds to
the many attacks and persecution that she suffers in those countries by bearing
witness to Christ with courage, through her humble and fervent presence, sincere
dialogue and the generous service in favour of whoever is suffering or in need
without any distinction".
 The Pope remarked that "in Syria and Iraq, evil destroys buildings and
infrastructures, but especially the conscience of man. In the name of Jesus, Who
came into the world to heal the wounds of humanity, the Church feels called to
respond to evil with good by promoting an integral human development of 'each
man and of the whole man'. To answer this difficult call, Catholics must
strengthen the intra-ecclesial collaboration and the bonds of communion which
unite them with other Christian communities, seeking also cooperation with
international humanitarian institutions and with all men of good will. I
encourage you, therefore, to continue on the path of cooperation and sharing,
and working together and in synergy. Please: do not abandon the victims of this
crisis, even if the world's attention were to lessen".
 "I ask that you all bring my message of profound solidarity and closeness to
those who are in trial and enduring the tragic consequences of this crisis", he
concluded. "In communion with you and with your communities, I pray unceasingly
for peace and the end of the torments and injustices in your beloved lands".

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