To initiate dialogue about making the rights of the child the justice issue for the Congregation the following is offered. The topic has been featured on the web site for the past several updates with additional information.

Personal Writings on issues

John Paul II’s Lenten address

Quiz on the Charter of Rights of the Child (CRC)

Activity - writing reflections

Questions for Personal Reflection

Listing of Variety of concerns under CRC

Format for Community Meeting

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said,

And he said: They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come trough you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Sorry

Sorry that we are here

That we take your time

Sorry

Sorry that we breathe your air

That we walk on your ground

That we stand in your view

Sorry

That my name is not David

Or Catherine Or Mary

But Rushed And Hotly....

And sorry that we brought nothing,

The only thing we have is a story

Not even a happy story.

I Wish I wish I were back in Somalia, with my family surrounding me I wish I was with the hot sunshine and the deep blue sea I wish I was in the forest playing with my friends I wish I was with people, having a laugh. I wish I was in Somalia and telling people how it was in London. (Zainab Jama, a young asylum seeker from Somalia)

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Date: 2004-03-28

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 28, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II called for a response to the "silent cry of pain" of children who suffer hunger and illness, or are recruited to fight in the world's wars.

"These littlest brothers of ours, who suffer from hunger, war and illnesses, make an anguished appeal to the world of adults," the Pope said today before praying the Angelus with thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square.

The Holy Father dedicated his address to the essence of his 2004 Lenten Message, which called on Christian communities to focus attention on children.

"Many of them are victims of serious illnesses, including tuberculosis and AIDS. They lack instruction and suffer from hunger," the Pontiff said, speaking from the window of his study overlooking the square.

"Undernourishment and malnutrition aggravated by worrying health needs, continue to be the daily cause of death of many of these little ones, deprived even of the indispensable minimum to survive," he said.

"In some parts of the world, especially in the poorer countries, there are children and adolescents who are victims of a terrible form of violence. They are recruited to combat in so-called forgotten conflicts," the Pope continued.

"They are subjected, in fact, to a double scandalous aggression: They are both victims and at the same time protagonists of war, engulfing them in the hatred of adults. Deprived of everything, they see their future menaced by a nightmare that is difficult to dispel," the Holy Father lamented.

"May their silent cry of pain not go unheard!" he exclaimed. He recalled Jesus' words "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me."

"The Lenten period urges Christians to a more generous acceptance of these Gospel words, to translate them into courageous actions in favour of children at risk or abandoned," John Paul II said.

The Holy Father prayed so that, through the intercession of Mary, God may "help children in difficulty and render fruitful the efforts of all those who with love seek to alleviate their sufferings."

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Test your knowledge of the CRC! Read each of the following statements and decide if you think they are true or false.

1. Almost all countries in the world ratified the CRC in the 1990s.

2. The CRC gives children the right to express and have their opinions heard regarding decisions that affect them.

3. The CRC indicates that young people should not have to take jobs that leave little time for social activities.

4. The CRC defines children as all persons up to age 16.

5. The CRC is silent on the issue of protecting children from the illicit use of narcotics.

6. Under the CRC, children who are sick have the right to participate in decisions about their treatment.

7. The CRC says that school discipline should be consistent with the child’s dignity.

8. The CRC upholds the family as the fundamental group of society.

9. The CRC is silent on the issue of privacy for children.

10. The CRC allows for traditional practices that may compromise the health of the child, if the practices are an integral part of the family’s cultural heritage.

11. Upon ratification, the CRC became part of each country’s law.

12. The CRC recognizes the right of the child to have a voice in community decision-making affecting youth.

13. Under the CRC, it is parents, not governments, who are charged with providing an adequate standard of living for their children.

14. The CRC does not address the issue of religious freedoms for children.

15. The CRC fails to provide for the due process of young offenders.

16. Under the CRC, custody of juvenile offenders is to be used only as a last resort.

17. The CRC addresses child prostitution, but is silent on the use of children in pornography.

18. Under the CRC, children with disabilities have the right to education that helps them achieve self-reliance.

19. The CRC pits children’s rights against parental rights.

Adapted from  www.rightsofchildren.ca/

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Writing helps us map our world. Sit quietly. Make yourself comfortable and relax your breathing to a regular pattern.

After a while, begin to express yourself in the form of a poem or a prayer - in free form or structured - words that help you to express your feelings about the issues of the global and local issues revolving around the rights of children. These may have derived from your reading, or from your own experiences, or the shared stories of others. Don’t worry that you are not a poet. Just write freely what words express the you that you know.

Return to this poem/prayer a few times over the week. Don’t change anything; just read, reflect and pray the sacred words that came forth from your interior self.

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What is to be discovered in the fragility of children in Italy, in Europe, in (whatever country you are in)?

"Fragility is a wound through which God can enter." How does this relate to this issue?

Where are the possibilities for grace to occur? ... for God to use these fragilities to lead us to something deeper?

Are we challenging the structures of injustice relating to the rights of the child?

What is one way that I could play a more active role in the war against injustice?

Who are the overlooked in my experiences? ... who has escaped my vision, my understanding or my acceptance? Am I able to minister to them?

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Go round the group, giving each one a chance to say what their initial feelings are on the topic. Consider your family history and personal history and see if there are elements around the issue of child rights that seems to be pulling you in a certain way.

Share some of this with the group.

Read the following:

"When I grow up, what I want is to live." 13 year old Rwandan refugee

"In my culture when a stranger comes we say ‘welcome, what can we do for you?’ But when I first came to ______ I had difficulty to make friends with people and understood where to go when I needed something." Gaby Kitoko from the Democratic Republic of Congo

What is your immediate response to these statements?

Think of a time or a story when the issue of how a child or group of children were being treated, that caused a shift in your understanding of this whole issue of the rights of the child?

Where does the gospel enter into this issue? For us Brothers who follow the light of Blessed Edmund, how does this all speak to us today?

Where do we go from here? Are there any steps that can betaken by us at this particular time?