All, most especially children, have the right to hear the gospel message, and the other readings, in their own language. And by 'their language', I do not mean English, Spanish, or any other foreign language--I mean in their own language, their own reading level. We must not force our children to sit through something that they cannot understand, forcing them to sit and pretend to be invisible, as if they are not important to God, and as if they do not deserve to hear the same message of salvation as the adults and young adults/tweens. We can do more than protect children from physical harm; we can open them up to the readings and sermon in a way that brings them to God. It is NOT only for the catechism classes. Feeding on the word of God is a GOOD thing--non-Catholics spoon-feed their children the Word of God. We who have the Church in full should be doing the same, and not pointing fingers at the parents. The Catholic Church is more of an and/both rather than an either/or, so why is this so hard to understand? Vatican II makes it clear that we need to make the mass understandable to the common people--kids count as people, too.

One right all children have, which is seldom spoken about, is the right to access to both parents, when homes are broken, and the right to have relationships with each as they grow up. Advocating for these Children's Rights would be one area the Catholic Church could excel in: Who else has the power to save children from parental alienation, whether intentional or not, and from all the pain and disadvantages it implies, but the Voice and Word of Christ on earth?