Children (file photo) / Ben Wicks / Unsplash (CC0)

CNA Newsroom, Oct 31, 2022 / 09:01 am (CNA).

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of November is for children who suffer, including war victims and orphans. 

“There are still millions of boys and girls who suffer and live in conditions very similar to slavery,” the pontiff said in a video appeal issued Monday.

“They aren’t numbers,” he said, “they are human beings with names, with a face of their own, with an identity that God has given them.”

“Let us pray for children who are suffering, especially for those who are homeless, orphans, and victims of war,” the pope said in a video message published Oct. 31.

“Each marginalized child, abandoned by his or her family, without schooling, without health care, is a cry! A cry that rises up to God and shames the system that we adults have built,” the pope said, adding: “An abandoned child is our fault.”

Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.