Pope Francis: Christians Have a Duty to Prevent, Condemn Child Exploitation

Pope Francis greets young people gathered for his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican.

By Kristina Millare

Vatican City, 08 January, 2025 / 1:35 pm (ACI Africa).

Pope Francis used his first general audience of the year to address the scourge of exploitation and violence against children, urging Christians worldwide not to remain indifferent to their pain and suffering.

Putting a spotlight on the “scourge of child labor,” the Holy Father lamented that there are “too many children forced to work” who are unable to smile, dream, or nurture their talents.

“In every part of the globe, there are children who are exploited by an economy that does not respect life, an economy that, in so doing, consumes our greatest store of hope and love,” he said on Wednesday.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered for his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

Speaking to hundreds of international pilgrims gathered inside the Paul VI Hall in Vatican City, the pope said society — especially Christians “who recognize themselves as children of God” — must not turn a blind eye to the plight of vulnerable children.

“[Christians] cannot accept that our little sisters and brothers, instead of being loved and protected, are robbed of their childhood, of their dreams, victims of exploitation and marginalization,” he said.

Pope Francis greets a young family in attendance at his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

In spite of great technological advancements, the Holy Father said, such progress has often disregarded the dignity of children, “who are a gift from God,” and failed to address their current and future needs.

“Today we want to turn our gaze toward Mars or toward virtual worlds, but we struggle to look in the eye a child who has been left at the margins and who is exploited or abused,” he said.

“The century that generates artificial intelligence and plans multiplanetary existences has not yet reckoned with the scourge of humiliated, exploited, mortally wounded childhood,” he continued.

Before extending his greetings to different pilgrim groups from around the world, the pope prayed: “Let us ask the Lord to open our minds and hearts to care and tenderness, and for every boy and every girl in the world to be able to grow in age, wisdom, and grace, receiving and giving love.”

Pope Francis blesses a newly married couple at his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Pope praises CircAfrica for its ‘mission’ to do good

At the end of the pope’s first general audience since the opening of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, 50 members of CirCAfrica, a circus company currently on tour in Rome, performed a short extract from their show for the pope and pilgrims inside the Paul VI Hall.

Praising circus artists’ mission of “doing good and making us laugh,” the Holy Father, who was seen tapping his feet to the music during the show, thanked the dancers, acrobats, and jugglers from various African nations for making him and others “laugh like children.”