Hajja Salesjana

by Staff Reporter Many children today are effectively orphans because their fathers are absorbed with work and do not play with them, Pope Francis has said. Speaking at his customary Wednesday morning audience, the Pontiff urged fathers to “waste time” playing with their offspring. According to a transcript of the address by Zenit news agency, Francis said: “Already as bishop in Buenos Aires, I perceived the sense of orphanhood that youth live today. And I often asked the fathers if they played with their children. And the answer was bad, eh! In the majority of cases [they said]: “But I can’t because I have so much work…” And the father was absent from that child who was growing up. And he did not play with him, he did not spend time with him. “Now, in this common course of reflection on the family, I would like to say to all the Christian communities that we must be more attentive: the absence of the paternal figure in the life of little ones and young people produces gaps and wounds which can also be very grave. And, in fact, the deviances Top photo by Amber Faust, bottom photo by Natasha Ivanchikina - Unsplash.com Workaholic fathers are turning children into ‘orphans’, says Francis Pontiff urges fathers to 'waste time' playing with their offspring in his general audience address 24 April-Ġunju 2024 hajja