CSDC 512

The use of children and adolescents as soldiers in armed conflicts — despite the fact that their young age should bar them from being recruited —must be condemned. Obliged by force to take part in combat or choosing to do so on their own initiative without being fully aware of the consequences, these children are not only deprived of an education and a normal childhood, they are also trained to kill. This constitutes an intolerable crime. The use of child soldiers in combat forces of any kind must be stopped and, at the same time, every possible assistance must be given to the care, education and rehabilitation of those children who have been involved in combat¹⁰⁷⁷ Cf. John Paul II, Message for the 1999 World Day of Peace, 11: AAS 91AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 91 (1999) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1999), 385-386..