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Human trafficking

Talitha Kum members hold a sculpture of St. Josephine Bakhita in St. Peter's Square on Feb. 6, 2022. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: "It is never too late to take action" against Human Trafficking

Feb 8, 2024

The pope established the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking 10 years ago to coincide with the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita.

Credit: Caritas Internationalis (CI)

Nigerian Woman Finds Solace in Caritas Project against Human Trafficking

Jul 30, 2023

Tunde Blessing, a 24-year-old woman from Nigeria’s Edo State, was lured to Libya with false promises of work opportunities in Italy. 

Photo illustration. | Shutterstock

Human Trafficking by the Numbers: New Reports Estimate Millions of Daily Victims

Jul 20, 2023

On any given day millions of people worldwide are victims of trafficking, forced labor, and sexual exploitation.

Bishop Anselm Umoren, Auxiliary Bishop of Abuja Archdiocese. Credit: Courtesy Photo

Catholic Archdiocese in Nigeria Facilitating Advocacy Project to Counter Human Trafficking

Aug 26, 2022

The Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja is facilitating an advocacy initiative aimed at countering the vice of human trafficking in the West African nation.

Fr. Peter John Pearson. Credit: Sheila Pires

Catholic Priest in South Africa Calls for “tight networking” to End Human Trafficking

May 27, 2022

There is need for “tight networking” that involves the sharing of information among stakeholders to bring an end to human trafficking, the Director of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has said.

null. Lucia Ballester/CNA.

Human Trafficking has Created "an open wound on the body of Christ": Pope Francis

Feb 8, 2022

His remark came on the International Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking.

Timothy P. Schmalz with his sculpture ‘Let the Oppressed Go Free.’. Courtesy of Timothy P. Schmalz.

St. Josephine Bakhita Sculpture Shines Light on Reality of Human Trafficking

Feb 8, 2022

The ex-slave’s feast day is celebrated on Feb. 8.

Pope Francis delivers his weekly Angelus message on Feb. 6, 2022. Vatican Media

Jesus Wants to Enter Our Emptiness, Pope Francis in Sunday Public Message

Feb 6, 2022

When all your efforts feel futile and empty, Jesus wants to be close to you, Pope Francis said on Sunday.

A bronze sculpture of Saint Josephine Bakhita, patron of trafficking victims, will be installed in the Vatican. Holy See Press Office.

Saint Josephine Bakhita Sculpture to be Installed in St. Peter’s Square

Feb 3, 2022

The sculpture will be in St. Peter's Square for the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking on February 8.

Sister Monica Chikwe, vice president, Slaves No More. U.S. Embassy to the Holy See

Meet the Catholic Nuns Leading the Fight against Human Trafficking

Oct 15, 2021

When a 26-year-old Nigerian girl was first forced out on the streets of Italy by her traffickers, she was told: “You have to start smiling.”

Religious leaders in Africa sign Joint Declaration of Religious Leaders Against Modern Slavery. Credit: Courtesy Photo

Religious Leaders in Africa Commit to end Human Trafficking at Joint Declaration

Aug 15, 2021

Religious leaders from West and Central Africa have jointly declared to use their positions in the society to end slavery and human trafficking, which have been said to rise during the COVID-19 pandemic, with traffickers “preying on the vulnerable.”

Participants at the June 1-5 Talitha Kum workshop on collaboration and networking to combat human trafficking in Africa. Credit: Damian Avevor

At Conference in Ghana, Clergy, Religious Vow to End Human Trafficking in Region

Jun 12, 2021

Members of the Clergy, Religious, and Laity who took part in a recent conference in Ghana’s capital city, Accra, vowed to do all it takes to strengthen existing networks and build new connections to tackle the problem of human trafficking in the West African region. 

Pope Francis' video message to prayer marathon against human trafficking Feb. 8, 2021.  YoutTube screenshot.

On St. Bakhita Feast Day, Pope Francis Asks for Prayers for Human Trafficking Victims

Feb 8, 2021

Pope Francis has asked people to pray Monday for every person who is currently a victim of human trafficking.

A Kenyan victim of human trafficking who worked for free in Lebanon sharing her experience with a Catholic nun.

Human Trafficking Returnees in Kenya, Uganda Recount Pain, Permanent Scars from Captivity

Jan 7, 2021

Juanita Ndagire was sure that she had a well-paying receptionist job waiting for her at a hotel in Dubai when she left home in Uganda in search for greener pastures. This was, however, a lie that the agents she was working with invented to sell her into slavery thousands of miles away from home.

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama with members of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). / Archbishop Kaigama's Facebook page

Church, Government in Nigeria to Partner in Fight against Rape, Human Trafficking

Jul 13, 2020

The Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) is seeking to partner with the Catholic Church in the West African country in view of fighting “against trafficking and rape of persons,” an official in Nigeria’s Archdiocese of Abuja has announced in a report.

Logo IMBISA

Bishops in Southern Africa Commit to Combat Human Trafficking

Mar 21, 2020

Bishops from nine countries in Southern Africa have, under their umbrella body of the Inter-regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA), expressed their commitment to fighting human trafficking in the region.

Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter's Square on March 14, 2018. / Daniel Ibanez / CNA.

Pope Francis Appeals for Displaced Women and Children in Syria

Feb 9, 2020

Pope Francis appealed Sunday for the protection of women and children fleeing violence in northwestern Syria as more than half a million people have been displaced in two months.

Pope Francis meets with participants in a World Day of Reflection against Trafficking in Persons in Vatican City, Feb. 12, 2018. Credit: Vatican City.

Women African Judges Meet at Vatican to Deliberate on 'plague' of Human Trafficking

Dec 13, 2019

A group of around 50 women judges and prosecutors engaged in the fight against human trafficking and organized crime in Africa is meeting at the Vatican this week.

Participants at Nairobi Conference on Human Trafficking, from left: Bishop Bishop José Luis Gerardo Ponce de León (Manzini - Swaziland), Bishop Virgilio Pante (Maralal, Kenya), Fr. Daniel Rono (SG, KCCB) / KCCB/Rose Achiego

African Human Trafficking Convention Tasks Bishops’ Conferences to Spearhead Action Plans

Oct 7, 2019

The just concluded Nairobi convention on the challenge of human trafficking has tasked the local Churches in Africa under their umbrella bodies, that is, Conferences of Catholic Bishops, to spearhead the plans of action, which the meeting resolved and outlined in 26 recommendations.

Participants in the Second Africa Region Conference on Human Trafficking in Nairobi, Kenya: 02.10.2019 / Rose Achiego/KCCB

African Conference on Human Trafficking Opens with Call for Collaborative Approaches

Oct 4, 2019

The African regional conference on human trafficking held in Kenya’s capital Nairobi opened with the recognition for multi-agency working in fighting against the vice of the trade of humans, Catholic Church leaders calling for collaboration.