Vasile writes to Francis

"Dear papa Francis, my sister has told me I should call you ‘Pope’, because you are an important person. But I don’t know what ‘Pope’ means so I will call you papa. My mother was for me and for my sister an important person just like you, even though we were a poor family, here in Moldova. Now my mother is no longer with us, because cruel people have hurt her. But I want you to know that every day I go to a soup kitchen that bears your name, ‘Pope Francis’. I’m sending you a picture of myself in the soup-kitchen, because a priest has succoured us from the streets on which we had been living in Chisinau, he gave us a home and cooks our meals". Thus begins the letter written by eleven-year-old Vasile, from Moldavia, with other European children, to Pope Francis. Their texts and drawings have been put together in a book published by CCEE – Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences – that will be personally handed to the Holy Father on September 4, a token of gratitude and affection for the attention he devotes to children, notably those from "existential peripheries". On September 4, with CCEE representatives, monsignor Antonio Cosa, bishop of the Catholic diocese of Chisinau, will accompany Vasile to meet the Pope. Children from European peripheries. Vasile wrote: "I’m happy despite the fact that my mother was taken away from me. I found a home and many friends. This priest and all the rest of us live together happily. We go to school, we’re clean and I also have a bicycle. Dear Pope Francis, could you please send me a picture of you that I can hang up near my bed so that I can say that I have a father-papa?" The Moldavian child wrote that the priest "on Saturdays talks to us about God, and I like it. Then we sing, we play and we eat pizza. Pope Francis, I would like to give you a present: I have made a small cross for you. See? There’s a smiling child on the cross, since the priest always tells us that even we must smile even in suffering". "The story of Vasile – said Fr Cesare Lodeserto – is a sad story, which is no different from the stories of other Moldavian children: "On the evening of April 3rd 2011 I saw a news report broadcast by Moldavian JurnalTv on the story of Vasile (9) and Mary (11). Their mother, aware that she could not afford raising the two children, asked that they be taken in foster care. The next day I welcomed the two children in our foster-home that I run, where they live today. On July 14 2012 their mother died of a violent death". Today Vasile is 11 and Maria is 13, "they both live peacefully in our foster-home, they attend public school and lead a normal life. Their joy is our joy". (www.reginapacis.org) A Church on the road of the younger ones. Attention to children within Moldavian society, where they represent, along with old people, the weakest and most needy population bracket, has been a primary commitment of the ecclesial community. From parishes to local realities, from the streets to the places of suffering, children have been duly taken care of, with concrete action: kindergartens in the capital city Chisinau and in parishes of suburban areas, reception in foster-homes for deprived children, oratories, vocational training, social workers’ assistance etc. The Catholic Church is actively involved in a set of ongoing projects with the support of volunteers and religious and with a great deal of sacrifice despite its scarce resources. The Church’s active engagement has recently extended to encompass also the situation of minors in prisons and children of detained mothers. The pastoral action launched by Msgr. Anton Cosa, bishop of Chisinau, has entered the realm of suffering and into the hearts of the young sufferers. Stable projects have been implemented within the only juvenile detention centre in the Moldavian State, that include vocational training programs, schooling and cooperation in projects with other European ecclesial partners. Moldova is an emigration country – 25% of the overall population live abroad – thus the phenomenon of "contented children" from mixed marriages is increasing. Children are the innocent victims of divorce and become the bone of contention between their parents, who despite international conventions and regulations fail to reach a just solution for their children. Also in these cases, the Catholic Church has implemented family mediation programs and psychological support services.