Wojciech Rogacin – Vatican
The jubilee of the Popotus children’s supplement became an opportunity for the Pope to send wishes to the editor-in-chief of “Avvenire”, and at the same time to draw the attention of the newspaper’s readers to the important role of media in focusing the attention of the youngest on the beauty of the world and relationships with others, and protecting them from an inhuman understanding of information and education.
Children, discover the world with wonder
Addressing the children, the Holy Father encourages them to discover the beauty of the world with wonder through this newspaper, so as to “think about it with confidence and build it without prejudice.” He points out that as they grow up, they will discover new things, but there are some things they should keep from their early years: “trust in those who love you, the universal language of love, the disarming power of a smile, the courage to ask for forgiveness, the beauty of making peace.”
Looking into the eyes of children can convert us
The Pope recalled Jesus’ message: “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” He explained that to be “like children” is to retain the key to seeing what is essential in everything, to finding surprising answers even to the most difficult questions.
“Perhaps only by looking into the lost eyes of children in the face of the barbarity of war can we be converted. To learn anew to look each other in the eye and to look at the world with a pure gaze,” wrote Leo XIV, addressing these words to adults.
Children will not find friends in chatbots
He thanked parents for helping children bring out the beauty they carry within themselves. “You are witnesses to how children educate us as we educate them, and how we should protect them from an inhuman understanding of information and education. Everyone, especially today, in the digital age and the era of artificial intelligence, needs constant education. To remain human, we must maintain a childlike view of reality,” emphasized the Holy Father.
And he added: “Therefore, we should not allow children to begin to believe that they will find their best friends or an oracle of all knowledge in artificial intelligence chatbots, thereby weakening their intellect and relational abilities, and dulling their creativity and thinking. We must protect their childhood and guide their development to become creators of a renewed world.”
