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Pope Francis in the Vatican, Feb 3, 2025.YouTube

VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has announced that he will write an apostolic exhortation on the theme of children after a high-level Vatican conference on children’s rights.

Speaking at the close of a Vatican event Monday, Francis gave notice of an upcoming text.

“For my part, to give continuity to this commitment and promote it throughout the Church, I plan to prepare an apostolic exhortation dedicated to children,” he said.

The Pope gave no further indication about when such a document might be expected. Should it indeed come to fruition, it would be his eighth apostolic exhortation, and the first since his October 2023 text on St. Thérèse.

His brief address came at the end of the first International Summit on Children’s Rights held at the Vatican on Monday.

The conference drew a wide-ranging field of guests, including children’s activists – such as Mary’s Meals founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow – and international figures such as former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, along with presidents of Interpol and the International Olympic Committee.

Last year saw the inaugural World Children’s Day hosted by the Vatican in Rome, which drew young children from around 100 countries gather in Rome. The two-day meeting involved a meeting with Francis and the children in the Olympic Stadium followed by their joining him for Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

READ: Male drag ‘artist’ dances for kids at Vatican’s World Children’s Day

It also drew considerable interest for the entertainment offered at the stadium, where a male performance artist danced in drag for young children.

Though the organizers of the event never replied to requests for a comment, the performer stated afterward that he was officially invited.

Many of the speakers at today’s conference highlighted the dangers faced by children from exploitation of various kinds, including sexual and physical abuse.

Francis himself, in his keynote speech to the attendees, warned about how children could be readily exploited while attempting immigration. He cited, as an example, that “at the border of the United States, those first victims of that exodus of despair and hope made by the thousands of people coming from the South towards the United States of America, and many others.”

However, any potential text on the theme of children will receive particular attention from observers given Francis’ own record in allegedly acting on behalf of numerous abuser clerics.

The Pope’s handling of the case of fellow Argentine Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta is a high-profile example, as is that of the case of Theodore McCarrick and the notorious alleged serial abuser Father Marko Rupnik – a priest who stills receives papal promotion despite an active investigation into his alleged abuse.

Former papal nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, famously accused Francis of knowing about McCarrick, about the restrictions imposed on him by Benedict XVI, and of deliberately repealing such restrictions. Viganò’s 2018 testimony took the Church and much of the world by storm, with the 11-page text naming numerous prominent prelates and accusing Francis of making McCarrick “his trusted counselor.”

READ: McCarrick report confirms Pope Francis knew about rumors of ex-Cardinal’s sex abuse and did nothing

As for the Rupnik case, Francis was accused of having direct involvement in the case, and even of intervening within “a few hours” to overturn the excommunication. In January 2023, Francis denied his involvement in the case, a move described by Messa in Latino – which lead the coverage of the Rupnik case – as “lying diplomatically.” Only after international outcry at Rupnik being incardinated into a Slovenian diocese did Francis announce the Vatican would open an investigation into the priest.

Francis has paid particular attention to events involving children in recent years, appearing keen to host such events and be visibly involved with the youth.

But the subject of care for children is one which requires urgent attention. Indeed, last summer the lead Vatican official responsible for cases of abuse revealed that some 77 percent of cases sent to the Vatican concern child abuse.

However, thanks to his record with cases such as those of Zanchetta, Rupnik, McCarrick – along with his promotion of Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández – large numbers of Catholics are skeptical about the nature of Francis’ text, which will likely deal heavily with the safeguarding of children – or what value to give it.

READ: Vatican official says 77% of cases sent to discipline office are about child abuse

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