Pope prays for children in armed conflict, appeals for liberation of kidnapped

(June24, 2009): Pope Benedict XVI expressed his great esteem for the service rendered by the United Nations Organisation in the defence of children, who are victims of violence and war. The Pope’s appreciation was made at the conclusion of his general audience on Wed. in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square. Greeting the delegation led by the U.N.’s Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy of Sri Lanka, the Pope said : “My thoughts are with the children of the world, in particular, those exposed to hunger, abandonment, abuse, disease and death”. The Pope voiced his nearness to all these little victims and said he remembered them always in his prayers.
The Pope also made an appeal at the end of his Wednesday general audience for the liberation of all those kidnapped in conflict zones worldwide, and urged once again for the liberation of Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni still a prisoner in the Philippines. Recalling that June 24^th is the 150^th birth anniversary of the Red Cross, the Pope hoped that the rights, dignity and interests of all human beings were always given top priority by this international humanitarian organisation, and encouraged, especially the youth, to be concretely engaged in humanitarian services.