Pope Francis made call attention to child labor and the importance of fighting against this scourge that affects the little ones and remarked that “the most profitable investment that humanity can make is child protection”. The Holy Father was giving a message to the Global Solutions Forum on the elimination of child labor in agriculture.
“For many of these little brothers of ours, missing school means not only losing opportunities that enable them to face the challenges of adulthood but also becoming ill, that is, being deprived of the right to health, due to deplorable conditions, In which they have to carry out the tasks that are vilely required of them,” the Pope lamented.
On behalf of Pope Francis, Cardinal Pietro Paroline, Vatican Secretary of State, sent a telegram on November 2, addressing the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAQ), Qu Dongyu. The Pope explained that child labor itself is exploitation and school dropouts fall to the slavery of the children.