“Ambassadors of hope: together against trafficking in persons”
Pope Francis’ Message for the 11th World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Trafficking in Persons
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
It is with joy that I join you on the 11th World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Trafficking in Persons. This event falls on the liturgical commemoration of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese woman and religious who has been a victim of trafficking since childhood and has become a symbol of our commitment against this terrible phenomenon. In this jubilee year we also walk together, as “pilgrims of hope,” on the road of countering trafficking.
But how is it possible to continue to nourish hope before the millions of people, especially women and children, young people, migrants and refugees, trapped in this modern slavery?
Where do we draw ever new momentum to counter the trade in human organs and tissues, sexual exploitation of children and girls, forced labor including prostitution, drug and arms trafficking?
How do we record all this in the world and not lose hope?
Only by lifting our gaze to Christ, our hope, can we find the strength of a renewed commitment that does not allow itself to be overcome by the dimension of problems and dramas, but in the darkness strives to kindle flames of light, which united can brighten the night until the dawn breaks.
We are offered an example by the young people around the world who are fighting against trafficking: they tell us that we must become ambassadors of hope and act together, with tenacity and love; that we need to stand alongside victims and survivors.
With God’s help we can avoid becoming addicted to injustice, ward off the temptation to think that certain phenomena cannot be eradicated.
The Spirit of the Risen Lord sustains us in courageously and effectively promoting targeted initiatives to weaken and counter the economic and criminal mechanisms that profit from trafficking and exploitation.
He teaches us first and foremost to listen, with closeness and compassion, to people who have experienced trafficking, to help them get back on their feet, and together with them to identify the best ways to free others and to do prevention.
Trafficking is a complex, ever-evolving phenomenon, and it draws nourishment from wars, conflicts, famine, and the consequences of climate change. It therefore requires global responses and a common effort, at all levels, to counter it.
I therefore invite all of you, especially representatives of governments and organizations that share this commitment, to join us, animated by prayer, to promote initiatives in defense of human dignity, for the elimination of trafficking in persons in all its forms, and for the promotion of world peace.
Together – trusting in the intercession of Saint Bakhita – we can put forth a great effort and create the conditions so that trafficking and exploitation are banished and respect for fundamental human rights always prevails, in fraternal recognition of common humanity.
Sisters and brothers, I thank you for the courage and tenacity with which you carry on this work, involving so many people of good will. Go forward with hope in the Lord, who walks with you! I bless you from the bottom of my heart. I pray for you, and you pray for me.
From the Vatican, February 4, 2025
Francis
Source
- Vatican