POPE ASKS WORLD LEADERS TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

VATICAN CITY, MAY 8, 2002 (VIS) - Following today's general audience, Pope John Paul spoke of the special session of the General Assembly of the United Nations that is dedicated to children, and he appealed to leaders to renew their commitment to protect the rights of children:

"Today in New York, the special session on children of the General Assembly of the United Nations begins. This important meeting calls attention back to the scourges that continue to afflict childhood, that precious though vulnerable treasure of the human family. I am thinking of wars, of poverty, of exploitation and of abuses of all kinds, of which they are victims.

"During these days, while the representatives from countries of the whole world are gathered together to reflect on the condition of children, I invite everyone to pray for a positive result to their work. Furthermore, I trust that this occasion may give rise to a renewed commitment in support of children on the part of the international community, so that all social activity involving them may be inspired by an authentic promotion of the human family and by a full respect for their fundamental rights."

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