Catherine’s Looking Ahead
Catherine Edwards will long remember her recent meeting with an ailing Pope Francis. “I still can’t believe I met him. It was a surreal moment for me,” she said. The meeting happened just two days before he was hospitalised.
While meeting Pope Francis was an unforgettable highlight, it happened during a week of great moments when a handful of young people from around the world gathered to share ideas and strategies to combat human trafficking. One of the key issues was making the anti-trafficking movement sustainable into the future.
Catherine, an ACRATH member, went to Rome as a Talitha Kum Youth Ambassador.
“It’s incredible to meet people from such different backgrounds, yet who all share the same commitment to eradicating human trafficking,” Catherine said. “Some are working directly with survivors, others focus on awareness-raising and community engagement, but all of us are helping to strengthen the movement in different ways.”
One important way of reaching young people is through social media including the recently-launched Talitha Kum app, Walking In Dignity.
Talitha Kum says the app, Walking in Dignity, “invites you to rise up and walk with us on this journey toward awareness on human trafficking and its prevention.” The app gives users the chance to learn, engage, show that you care about people facing human trafficking, heal, empower survivors, and support projects against human trafficking.
The Youth Ambassadors also performed a flash mob event in Rome to create awareness of human trafficking. You can watch the event here.
Catherine, a lawyer now working in Canberra, said Youth Ambassadors were committed to mobilising their networks wherever they are.
“I think we must create new ways of bringing groups together because younger people who are working full time, or with young families, can’t contribute to ACRATH’s work in the same way. Much of ACRATH’s wonderful work has been carried out by older people and members of Religious Congregations, and the challenge now is to find new systems to sustain the work,” Catherine said.
One challenge, she noted, is keeping young people engaged beyond school and university.
“At secondary schools, there are social justice groups. At uni, there are networks like Young Mercy Links. But once people enter the workforce, it can be harder to find ways to sustain their involvement.”
One way Catherine ‘sustains’ the movement is by supporting, Young Mercy Links, the Near to Peer school program, and developing new opportunities to create awareness of human trafficking. She supports ACRATH and Young Mercy Links in the Near to Peer program, which connects Young Mercy Links and ACRATH volunteers with schools to educate students about human trafficking. “The idea is that students may find it easier to relate to someone closer to their own age,” she explained. “At the same time, it gives Young Mercy Links members the opportunity to develop their confidence in public speaking and advocacy.”
Catherine was one of the young women who helped establish Young Mercy Links several years ago in her home state of South Australia after being inspired by an ACRATH presentation from Sr Therese Power rsm. That talk led her to connect with Sr Meredith Evans rsm, and she has been involved in the anti-trafficking movement ever since.
She remains in close contact with the Talitha Kum Youth Ambassadors worldwide and is eager to see the network grow, particularly in the Pacific region.
“I’d love for more young people from the Pacific to have the opportunities I’ve had through Talitha Kum,” she said. “And I want to see more young people engaging with ACRATH and Young Mercy Links—so that others can step into these spaces too, and I can make myself redundant!”
Caption: Catherine meeting the Pope in Rome in 2025. Photo used with permission © Vatican Media.
