At the conclusion of his November 17 general audience, Pope Francis issued two appeals: one for the Italian bishops’ first National Day of Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Abuse, and the other for “the workers of Borgo Valbelluna and the area, who are concerned about their future employment.”

“I hope that this initiative may be an opportunity for reflection, awareness and prayer to support the human and spiritual recovery of victims,” the Pope said. “It is the overriding duty of all those who have any educational responsibility in the family, in the parish, in schools, in recreational and sporting places, to protect and respect the adolescents and young people entrusted to their care, because it is precisely in these places that most abuse occurs.”

Speaking about the workers, the Pope said, “I join the bishops and parish priests of the area in expressing my closeness. I make a heartfelt appeal that in this situation, as in other similar ones that place so many families in difficulty, the logic of profit should not prevail, but that of fair and solidarity-based sharing.”