Faces in the Fight Against Human Trafficking

On July 29, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN hosted an event entitled “Faces in the Fight Against Human Trafficking” at UN Headquarters in New York. It took place alongside a photography exhibition marking the tenth anniversary of the Talitha Kum Network and in commemoration of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. 

Monsignor David Charters delivered the opening remarks on behalf of the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Bernadito Auza and moderated the discussion panel. Human trafficking is “one of the darkest and most revolting realities in the world today” he said, and an industry that “ensnares 41 million men and women, boys and girls,” citing the words of Pope Francis, who has repeatedly described human trafficking as “open wound on the body of contemporary society” that “exceeds the competence of any one community or country” in the fight against it.

The panelists for the evening were Lisa Kristine, the photographer of the ‘Nuns Healing Hearts’ exhibit, Sr. Gabriella Bottani SMC, coordinator of the Talitha Kum Network International,  Sr. Melissa Camardo SCL from LifeWay Network’s Safe Housing Program, Ansa Noreen an alumna of LifeWay Network, and Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Msgr. Charters stressed the need to “liberate, rehabilitate, and reintegrate those ensnared by modern forms of slavery.” In this regard, he said that “the work of Catholic religious sisters across the globe” could not receive enough attention as they tirelessly work to restore the dignity of those trafficked. Read more…