The world's suffering little ones - don't forget them this Christmas

Imagine hearing a knock at your front door. As you open the door, to your great surprise you see a baby lying in front of you. Without hesitation, you immediately pick up the infant and bring her out of the cold night and into the warmth of your home and heart. 

As a good decent human being, as a follower of Jesus who loved the poor and vulnerable so dearly, you surely would not close your door on this helpless child. And neither would I.  

Then how is it that we often do not open our hearts as wide as possible to the little ones in our world who are orphaned, impoverished, cold, hungry, sick, homeless, war-torn and unborn?

I think our hearts are often not wide open because the little ones are not on our doorsteps. You know, out of sight, out of mind. 

Well let's change that. Let's bring the little ones into our field of vision. 

Educating ourselves on the plight of babies and young children is an essential way to keep them in mind and thus inspire us into action. 

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15,000 children under five-years-of-age die every day largely due to the easily preventable diseases of pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and preterm birth complications and birth asphyxia. Undernutrition is a major contributor to these deaths.

Increased investment by the U.S. and other wealthy nations in relatively low-cost vaccines, medicines, insecticide-treated bed nets, breastfeeding education, adequate nutrition, as well as prenatal/child-delivery/post-natal care would prevent most of the at-risk babies and under five-year-olds from dying. 

Yet, the U.S. provides less than 1 percent of its budget for all poverty-focused international aid. That is shameful.

And the U.S. itself has a higher infant mortality rate than 27 other wealthy nations. 

Please contact your congressional delegation today (Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121) urging a robust increase in both domestic and international funding for child poverty-focused needs like those listed above. And urge them to stop funding war and war-fueling weapons which are being used in the killing of hundreds of thousands of children every year.

One of the poorest places on earth for little ones is South Sudan. Civil war and drought have placed nearly 6 million people on the brink of starvation. 

An outstandingly selfless Catholic organization there is the Sudan Relief Fund which supports two orphanages and operates Mother of Mercy Hospital in the remote Nuba Mountains - the only trauma center within a 300-mile radius - where American Catholic missionary, Dr. Tom Catena, the hospital's sole physician and surgeon, tirelessly treats 400 patients a day.  

Please consider making a generous Christmas gift to this very worthy Catholic organization by going to www.sudanreliefund.com/current-needs and www.sudanreliefund.com/sudan-landings/orphans.  

And let us not forget to stand up for the little ones journeying to be born, but sadly never see the light of day due to the brutality of abortion. 

In the U.S. over 900,000 unborn babies are killed every year. And worldwide approximately 56 million babies are aborted.

Please contact your state Catholic Conference to receive their legislative action alerts, and kindly consider making a Christmas donation to your local pregnancy center.

During Mass on the second Sunday of Advent, resting in the pew in front of me was a tiny newborn baby. As I looked at how miraculously he was made, I then focused on the nativity scene in the sanctuary and could clearly imagine the baby Jesus lying in the manger. And I thought about how wonderful it is that the Almighty chose to come to us as an innocent, gentle, vulnerable, lovable baby to give us an invaluable glimpse into the person of God and the way to peace on earth.   

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[Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at [email protected].]

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