Pope warns against getting accustomed to war in Ukraine

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Pope Francis is warning people not to get accustomed to the war in Ukraine, and is calling for the faithful to keep those suffering "this tragic reality" in our hearts and prayers.

"The thought of the people of Ukraine, afflicted by war," the Pope said, "remains vivid in my heart."

The Pope cautioned against the passing of time allowing us to grow accustomed to it, without keeping alive our "concern for that suffering population."

"Please, let us not grow accustomed to this tragic situation! Let us always keep it in our hearts," he insisted, adding, "Let us pray and strive for peace."

Eliminate scourge - No child should be deprived rights

The Holy Father also made an appeal condemning child labour, as the world marks the World Day Against Child Labour on Sunday.

Recalling the Day, Pope Francis said: "Let us all work to eliminate this scourge, so that no child is deprived of his or her fundamental rights and forced or coerced to work."

"The exploitation of children for work is a terrible situation that affects us all!"

The 2022 theme of the World Day "Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour" calls for increased investment in social protection systems and ways to establish solid social protection floors and protect children from child labour.

According to UN statistics, at the beginning of 2020, one in ten children aged five and over were involved in child labour worldwide, equating to an estimated 160 million children, or 63 million girls and 97 million boys.