Childhood can’t wait
The Catholic Church in Mexico released a message that resonates deeply: childhood is not a minor issue, it is a moral requirement that concerns us all. In your most recent editorial, you made clear that every child has a dignity that is not negotiable, no matter where they come from or under what conditions they live.
“The protection, training and support of minors must be assumed as a collective responsibility”
Reality that hurts
It is not a pretty speech. The Church pointed out what many are silent about: violence, abandonment, poverty, broken families. Problems that, he says, force us to look squarely at whether we are really complying with protecting those who cannot defend themselves.
Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes was direct: we cannot normalize child suffering. Each child is unique, and society has the obligation to guarantee them a dignified development.
Family and community, the shield
Here comes the key: the Church put the spotlight on the family as the first refuge. That’s where values like love and respect are learned. But he also called on religious communities to generate safe environments in parishes, schools and spaces of coexistence.
More than words
The final message is a collective slap on the wrist: caring for children involves listening to them, recognizing their voice and accompanying their growth. It is not just the task of the government or institutions. It is an ethical commitment that must guide every action of society.
Because, as my father says, politics and faith are not in a bubble: they affect the daily lives of our daughters, of the children of the neighborhood, of those who have no voice. And that, friends, is non-negotiable.
