Pope Francis received members of the Meter Association on Saturday, Mary 15, 2021, in the Apostolic Vatican Palace.
The Meter Association is dedicated to fighting child abuse and pornography, particularly its online presence that threatens youth.
“Your work is all the more necessary because, unfortunately, abuses continue, perpetrated to the harm of children,” the Holy Father said.”I am referring particularly to the solicitations that happen through the Internet and various social media, with pages and portals dedicated to child pornography. It’s a scourge that, on one hand, calls to be faced with renewed determination by public institutions, and Authorities and, on the other, in needs n even greater awareness of families and different educational agencies.
“Also today, we see how many times in families the first reaction is to cover everything; a first reaction that also exists always is in other institutions and in the Church. We must fight against this old habit to cover up. I know that you are always vigilant in protecting children, including in the context of the most modern means of communication.”
Here is a translation of the Pope’s address to those present at the meeting.
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The Holy Father’s Address
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I’m happy to meet with you, representatives of the Meter Association that, since 1989 — when few spoke about this scourge – has been committed to the fight against pedophilia in Italy and in other countries. I greet and thank the Bishop, Monsignor Antonio Stagliano, and Father Fortunato Di Noto, who founded this important reality. I greet and thank Cardinal Paolo Lojudice, and all those that in various ways support the Association, for the protection and defense of abused and mistreated children.
In these years, with your generous work, you have contributed to make visible the love of the Church for the littlest ones and the defenseless. As the Good Samaritan of the Gospel, how many times you have come close to them with respect and compassion, to receive, console and protect them! God’s style is closeness, compassion, and tenderness. How many spiritual wounds you have bandaged! The Ecclesial Community is grateful to you for all this.
We can compare your Association to a home. When we say “home,” we think of a place of welcome, shelter, and protection. The word home has a typically family flavor, which evokes warmth, affection, tenderness, which can be experienced in fact in a family, especially in a moment of anguish and pain. And you have been and are “home” for so many children, violated in their innocence or enslaved by the egoism of adults. You have been and are a house of hope, fostering in many victims a journey of liberation and redemption. Therefore, I encourage you to continue in this worthy social and human activity, continuing to offer your precious contribution in the service of the protection of children.
Your work is all the more necessary because, unfortunately, abuses continue, perpetrated to the harm of children. I am referring particularly to the solicitations that happen through the Internet and various social media, with pages and portals dedicated to child pornography. It’s a scourge that, on one hand, calls to be faced with renewed determination by public institutions, and Authorities and, on the other, in needs n even greater awareness of families and different educational agencies. Also today, we see how many times in families the first reaction is to cover everything; a first reaction that also exists always is in other institutions and in the Church. We must fight against this old habit to cover up. I know that you are always vigilant in protecting children, including in the context of the most modern means of communication.
The abuse of children is a sort of “psychological homicide” and in many cases cancellation of childhood. Therefore, the protection of children against sexual exploitation is a duty of all States, called to identify the traffickers and abusers. All the more necessary, at the same time, is the denunciation and prevention implemented in various realms of the society: schools, sport, recreational and cultural realities, religious communities, and individuals. Moreover, in the area of the protection of minors and in the fight against pedophilia it is necessary to arrange specific interventions for effective help to victims.
The Meter Association collaborates actively on all these fronts with international organizations and different sectors of the civil society, also through appropriate memoranda of understanding. Continue your work without hesitation, paying particular attention to the educational aspect, to form in people a firm conscience and uproot the culture of abuse and exploitation.
Your Association’s logo is made up of a large letter “M” which recalls the idea of the womb, of reception, protection, and embrace of the littlest ones. Inside the “M” there are twelve stars, symbol of the crown of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, and Mother of all children. She, solicitous mother, leaning forward to love Her Son Jesus, is model and guide for the whole Association, stimulating to love with evangelical charity the children victims of slavery and violence. Charity to one’s neighbor is inseparable from the charity that God has for us and that we have for Him. Therefore, I exhort you to root your daily activity always in a daily relationship with God: in personal and community prayer, in listening to the Word, and above all in the Eucharist, Sacrament of unity and bond of charity.
Dear brothers and sisters, I renew my appreciation and gratitude to those responsible, to the members, the volunteers, and all those that cooperate with your Association. Do not be afraid in face of incomprehension and difficulties; there are so many but do not be afraid. Go forward with courage and perseverance. I accompany you with my prayer and also with my blessing. And you, too, please don’t forget to pray for me. Thank you!
© Libreria Editrice Vatican
[Original text: Italian] [Exaudi’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]
