Pope Leo urges global action to help child migrants
Leo said millions of displaced children face violence, exploitation and death along migration routes, and he urged governments and families to protect them.
- On Wednesday, Pope Leo urged global action to protect migrant and refugee children, lamenting the trauma and exploitation these young people face along migration routes while addressing thousands in Peter's Square.
- His appeal comes four days before the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, celebrated this Sunday, with the Pope focusing his message on the theme, "Even just one of these children."
- UNHCR estimates 45 million children under age 18 were forcibly displaced at the end of 2025, with 39 per cent of those in refugee-like situations being children, illustrating the scale of the crisis.
- The Pope insisted the response cannot be reduced to statistics, citing Jesus: "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me," and urging everyone to feel personally involved.
- Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, frequently advocates for better treatment of migrants; last year, he criticized President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies, maintaining his consistent focus on Refugees.
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Pope Leo urges global action to help child migrants
VATICAN CITY, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Pope Leo lamented on Wednesday conditions suffered by migrant and refugee children and urged global action to protect young people fleeing their home countries in search of safety. Migrant children "often endure unsp...
Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday called for the protection of migrant minores enduring unexpected suffering at his weekly general audience in the Vatican, head of World Refugee Day on Sunday. (ANSA)
Pope Leo XIV today called for the "responsibility of all" to protect migrant children who "have untold difficulties", arguing that the debate on migration ceases to be based on flows and begins to focus on human rights.
On Wednesday, Pope Leo deplored the conditions suffered by child migrants and refugees and called for global action to protect young people fleeing their homelands in search of safety.
He called for international action
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