"They're a great gift for humanity... but they are also great outcasts, because they aren’t allowed to be born," he said, stressing that "in themselves they are a treasure for humanity and for the Church, because they constantly remind us of the necessary condition for entering the kingdom of God: not considering ourselves self-sufficient, but rather in need of help, love and forgiveness. And we all need help, love and forgiveness... all of us!" "First of all, children—he said—remind us that, in the early years of life, we were all totally dependent on the care and kindness of others. Children—he continued—remind us of another thing: they remind us that we are always children, even when we have become adults or elderly, even when someone becomes a parent, or occupies a position of responsibility; under all of these identities there's always a child. We are all children. And that always leads us back to the fact that we have not given life to ourselves, but we have received it."

 

Furthermore, there are many riches that children bring to humanity: for example, the way they look at reality, with a confident and pure gaze. The child spontaneously has confidence in dad and mom; he has a spontaneous trust in God, in Jesus, and in the Virgin Mary. At the same time, his inner eye is pure; it is not yet tainted by malice, duplicity, or the grind' of life that hardens people’s hearts. We know that children have original sin; they're self-centered, but they retain purity and simplicity within." "Children bring life, joy, hope, and even trouble. But, that's how life is. Of course—said Francis—they also bring concerns and sometimes many problems; but a society with these worries and problems is better than a society that is sad and gray because it has become childless."