As Ramadan fasting peroid of Muslim communities worldwide comes to an end, the Vatican City has drawn attention of the faithfuls to the moral decadence among the children across the world, calling for their proper upbringing to observe fasting and develop in them a sense of God and a spirit of religious obedience. In a statement by the President of Pontifical Council for Inter- religious Dialogue in Vatican City, Rome, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, made available to THISDAY by Director of Social Communications, Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Reverend Father Gabriel Osu, the Vatican emphasised that if children were given necessary focus at their early stage of life, they would develop sense of goodwill and at the same time acquire self-discipline. "At the earliest age possible, you teach your children to observe this month of fasting, thus developing in them a sense of God and a spirit of religious obedience, at the same time, helping them to train their will and to acquire self-discipline. In this way, the family is par excellence. The place where your children receive their first religious education," the Vatican stated.
Also, the Vatican drew attention to the plights of children all over the world, stressing that by rights, they should be entitled to good food, clothing and protection as well as better educated to enable them develop their capacities. "Every child has an inalienable right to life and in so far as this is possible to be welcomed within a natural, stable family. All children have the right to nourishment, clothing and protection and furthermore to be educated so that they may develop in them, and that later they may develop in themselves all their capacities," the Vatican said. In this perspective, the child, when sick or victim of an accident, it emphasised, has the right to receive all necessary care, stressing that the life of the child, just as the life of every human person, is sacred. "On severa1 occasions these last years, representatives of the Holy See and of countries with a Muslim majority have defended together in internationa1 fundamental human values. It was often a matter of defending the rights of those who are the weakest and notably the family as the natural environment in which children are nurtured and their rights are better preserved," the Vatican added, emphasising however that although the child has benefited in certain parts of the world from progress in respect for human rights, there were still many evils which cause suffering to them. "Too many children are forced to engage in heavy work that endangers their physical and psychological development, prevents them from attending school and thus deprives them of the instruction to which they have rights. Many others are conscripted or involved in wars and conflicts. Children have also been the first victims of the increase in sexual abuse and in prostitution over the last years," the Vatican noted. The Vatican stressed that children were victims of changes in the society as family break ups, increase in the use of drugs and drugs trafficking, trafficking in human organs and the tragedy of HIV/AIDS. Accordingly, the Vatican City called for a concerted efforts to make the world a better place for children, expressing that the future of children depends the future of humanity.
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