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Answering Pope Francis’ Call to Protect Vulnerable Children

February 2, 2025

From the Office for Social Ministry

“Dear brothers and sisters: I would like to reflect in a special way on children, their dignity and their welfare. Our world, which can peer into the depths of space, is often blind to the desperate needs of innocent children all around us who are suffering from abject poverty, exploitation and abuse.” - Pope Francis January 8, 2025 Public Audience Message

As we begin the new year, hopefully the Christmas joy of the Christ child’s coming to dwell among us can nourish our efforts in this new year to respond to the reality of vulnerable children in Gaza, Sudan, and in migrant or refugee camps on borders around the world. In his messages for the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis reminds Christians of our responsibility to protect the most vulnerable among us: "The disciples of Jesus Christ must never allow children to be neglected or mistreated, to be deprived of their rights, or left unloved or unprotected. It is our duty to prevent and condemn any violence or abuse against children. Children hold a special place in God’s heart."

At the beginning of this January Pope Francis spoke passionately about the pervasive problem of child labor: "Today, far too many children are forced to work. A child who cannot smile, who cannot dream, loses the chance to discover their talents. Across the world, children are exploited by systems that value profits over people, draining the very hope and love that could shape our future. We cannot accept that our little brothers and sisters are robbed of their childhood, their dreams, and their dignity through exploitation and neglect."

Child labor often involves human trafficking. Each year on February 8th, the Catholic Church observes the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. The date honors St. Josephine Bakhita, who survived child labor trafficking and became a beacon of hope for other vulnerable victims. Bakhita’s story is one of incredible courage. Kidnapped at the age of seven in Sudan, she was sold into slavery several times before eventually being brought to work as a babysitter in Italy. However, with the help of the Canossian Sisters, she was freed from slavery and became a beloved Canossian nun serving children. She was canonized in the Jubilee Year 2000 as the patron saint of human trafficking victims. Today her legacy lives on through Talitha Kum, a global network of Catholic sisters who work courageously to fight human trafficking. Their efforts are deeply rooted in local communities, offering hands-on care with survivors, their families, and children at risk who have suffered trauma in many forms including human trafficking and child labor.

Here in Hawaii, the legacy of caring with vulnerable persons continues through the work of the Sisters of St. Francis, inspired by Mother Marianne Cope of Molokaʻi, who was canonized in 2012 as the patron saint of outcasts. For decades, the Sisters have served in communities with the vulnerable through hospitals and schools on Oahu, Maui, Moloka’i, Kauai, Moloka’i and the Big Island. When the devastating Maui wildfires of 2022 destroyed Lahaina’s Sacred Hearts School where the St. Francis Sisters had taught, the local, national and international community rallied to help address the suffering, including in many Maui migrant families. Individuals and organizations came forward with the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu to ensure children could continue to experience the caring education of the Sacred Hearts School education despite the traumatic tragedy. One key supporter in this process has been the St. Augustine Education Foundation-AEF, which works with the Diocese to provide tuition assistance helping families in need afford Hawaii Catholic education. The Augustine Education Foundation continues to be a vital part of providing children in Hawaii an opportunity to develop and achieve their dreams of building a hopeful future.

To learn more about and support these inspiring efforts to be Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee year, please visit the websites of Talitha Kum: (www.talithakum.org) and the St. Augustine Education Foundation (www.augustinefoundation.org). And may we continue together on this Jubilee 2025  journey with this prayer of  Pope Francis, “Let us ask the Lord to open our minds and hearts to care and tenderness, and for every boy and every girl to be able to grow in age, wisdom and grace receiving and giving love.” Mahalo.