VATICAN CITY, JUNE 21, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A Vatican official called Christians to change the strategy in dealing with street children: Instead of waiting for them to seek help, the Church needs to go out to them.
Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers, said this on Wednesday when he presented the third part of the recently released "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road."
According to the archbishop, between 100 million and 150 million children live on the streets, a situation which he called one of the "most disturbing challenges of our time, for the Church and for political and civil society."
Archbishop Marchetto cited various causes for the increased number of children living on the streets, including the breakdown of families, violence between parents, immigration, drugs, prostitution and the spread of what he called a culture of disobedience.
"For this reason, the Church needs to take on this problem, in terms of prevention and recovery for these children," he said.
The Vatican official added: "It is important to change from a pastoral approach of waiting, to one of meeting and welcome, searching out these young people where they are being hurt, in the streets, in town squares, in night clubs and the so-called hot areas of our cities.
"It is necessary to go out to meet them with love to bring the Good News and to witness with one's own life that Christ is the Way, Truth and Life."
Archbishop Marchetto also said that efforts should concentrate on "preparing those involved in this pastoral work both professionally and spiritually" because "they must show great maturity and a capacity to act in harmony with other educators."
ZE07062106 - 2007-06-21