PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Vatican: Pope bemoans human trafficking, says it's a wound to humanity
Vatican City, Vatican State (PANA) - The Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis I, has slammed human trafficking, calling it "An open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ and a crime against humanity".
A press statement by the Vatican Information Service (VIS), received by PANA Thursday, said Pope Francis was speaking while addressing participants in the Second International Conference on "Combating Human Trafficking: Church and Law Enforcement in Partnership", which took place from 9 to 10 April in the Vatican.
It was organised by the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales.
According to the pontiff, "This is an important meeting, a gesture on the part of the Church and people of goodwill who want to cry out, 'Enough!'," he added.
"The very fact of our being here to combine our efforts means that we want our strategies and areas of expertise to be accompanied and reinforced by the mercy of the Gospel, by closeness to the men and women who are victims of this crime," said the Pope.
"Our meeting today includes law enforcement authorities, who are primarily responsible for combating this tragic reality by a vigorous application of the law. It also includes humanitarian and social workers, whose task it is to provide victims with welcome, human warmth and the possibility of building a new life. These are two different approaches, but they can and must go together.
"To dialogue and exchange views on the basis of these two complementary approaches is important. Conferences such as this are extremely helpful, and, I would say, much needed," Pope Francis added.
-0- PANA PR/VAO 10April2014
A press statement by the Vatican Information Service (VIS), received by PANA Thursday, said Pope Francis was speaking while addressing participants in the Second International Conference on "Combating Human Trafficking: Church and Law Enforcement in Partnership", which took place from 9 to 10 April in the Vatican.
It was organised by the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales.
According to the pontiff, "This is an important meeting, a gesture on the part of the Church and people of goodwill who want to cry out, 'Enough!'," he added.
"The very fact of our being here to combine our efforts means that we want our strategies and areas of expertise to be accompanied and reinforced by the mercy of the Gospel, by closeness to the men and women who are victims of this crime," said the Pope.
"Our meeting today includes law enforcement authorities, who are primarily responsible for combating this tragic reality by a vigorous application of the law. It also includes humanitarian and social workers, whose task it is to provide victims with welcome, human warmth and the possibility of building a new life. These are two different approaches, but they can and must go together.
"To dialogue and exchange views on the basis of these two complementary approaches is important. Conferences such as this are extremely helpful, and, I would say, much needed," Pope Francis added.
-0- PANA PR/VAO 10April2014
