First photo of Pope Francis since entering hospital

Pope Francis meets participants in an international conference on eradicating child labor at the Vatican’s Consistory Hall, Nov. 19, 2021. / Vatican Media.

Vatican City, Nov 19, 2021 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis said on Friday that the persistence of child labor in 21st-century economies is “shocking and disturbing.”

Addressing participants in an international conference on Nov. 19, the pope said that the coronavirus pandemic had worsened the plight of millions of children forced to work worldwide.

“It is shocking and disturbing that in today’s economies, whose productive activities rely on technological innovations, so much so that we talk about the ‘fourth industrial revolution,’ the employment of children in work activities persists in every part of the world,” he said.

“This endangers their health and their mental and physical well-being, and deprives them of the right to education and to live their childhood with joy and serenity. The pandemic has further aggravated the situation.”

The pope was speaking in the Vatican’s Consistory Hall to participants in a conference on “Eradicating child labor, building a better future,” hosted by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, led by Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson.

It was the second time this month that the pope has highlighted the scourge. He called on Nov. 2 for renewed efforts to free children from “the brutal yoke of labor exploitation” in a message to a virtual forum hosted by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

In his latest address, he distinguished between child labor and “the small domestic tasks that children … perform as part of family life, to help parents, siblings, grandparents or other members of the community.”

“Child labor is something else entirely,” he said. “It is the exploitation of children in the production processes of the globalized economy for the profit and gain of others.”

“It is the denial of children’s rights to health, education and harmonious growth, including the possibility to play and dream. This is tragic.”

“A child who cannot dream, who cannot play, cannot grow up. It is robbing children of their future and therefore humanity itself. It is a violation of human dignity.”

The conference is taking place in the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor, endorsed by the U.N. General Assembly and supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The ILO estimates that 152 million children across the world are forced to work in exploitative conditions, although the global figure decreased by 38% between 2000 and 2016.

The FAO reports that 70% of child labor takes place in an agricultural setting, with 112 million children working in crop production, livestock, forestry, fisheries, or aquaculture.

“If we want to eradicate the scourge of child labor, we must work together to eradicate poverty, to correct the distortions in the current economic system, which centralizes wealth in the hands of a few,” the pope said.

“We must encourage states and business actors to create opportunities for decent work with fair wages that enable families to meet their needs without their children being forced to work.”

“We must combine our efforts to promote quality education that is free for all in every country, as well as a health system that is accessible to all without distinction.”

“All social actors are called upon to combat child labor and its causes. The participation in this conference of representatives of international organizations, civil society, business, and the Church is a sign of great hope.”

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Pope Francis presides at the end of year Vespers and Te Deum prayer at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Dec. 31, 2022. / Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images

Rome Newsroom, Dec 31, 2022 / 10:33 am (CNA).

Pope Francis gave thanks for the good works and sacrifices of Benedict XVI, hours after the pope emeritus’ death on Saturday at the age of 95.

“The thought goes spontaneously to the dearly beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who left us this morning. With emotion we remember his person, so noble, so kind,” Pope Francis said at a prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 31.

In his first public comments since the pope emeritus’ death, Francis said: “We feel in our hearts so much gratitude: gratitude to God for having given him to the Church and to the world; gratitude to him, for all the good he accomplished, and especially for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his retired life.”

“Only God knows the value and strength of his intercession, of his sacrifices offered for the good of the Church,” he said.

Pope Francis addressed the news of Benedict’s death during a first Vespers liturgy for the vigil of the Jan. 1 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Before the start of the liturgy, Catholics in attendance prayed a rosary for the repose of the soul of Benedict XVI.

Benedict’s death, at the age of 95, was announced in Rome on Dec. 31. His body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica from the morning of Monday, Jan. 2, 2023.

Pope Francis will preside over the pope emeritus’ funeral Mass in St. Peter’s Square at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 5, 2023. He will be buried in the Vatican crypt under St. Peter’s Basilica.

First Vespers was prayed at the Vatican in anticipation of the Jan. 1 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The prayer service also included the singing of the “Te Deum,” a Latin hymn of thanksgiving from the early Church.

Pope Francis, who turned 86 earlier this month, arrived at the basilica in a wheelchair before presiding over the liturgy and delivering a homily.

Benedict XVI was remembered in the vigil’s prayer intentions.

Members of the Roman Curia and the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican were also present inside the basilica, where an estimated 8,000 people gathered in prayer on the last day of 2022.

It is Pope Francis’ custom to visit the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square following first Vespers on New Year’s Eve. Last year, his visit was canceled to prevent crowds from gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on God being born “of a woman,” which was made possible through Mary’s “yes” to the divine plan for Jesus’ birth.

“Let us not take the mystery of divine motherhood for granted,” he said. “Let us be amazed by the choice of God, who could have appeared in the world in a thousand ways showing his power, and instead wanted to be conceived in full freedom in Mary’s womb, wanted to be formed for nine months like any child, and finally be born of her, born as a woman.”

“Let us not pass over this quickly, let us stop to contemplate and meditate on it, for here is an essential feature of the mystery of salvation,” the pope said.

The prayer service concluded with the singing of the Christmas hymn “Adeste Fideles.”

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Vatican City, Apr 2, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Pope St. John Paul II embraced suffering with love, even during his illness, a cardinal and the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica said on the 15th anniversary of the saint’s death.

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