Vatican City – “Christian Commitment – Created in the image of God, treated like slaves….” is the title of the document on combating human trafficking presented today. The result of a joint initiative of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Caritas Internationalis and the COATNET network , the document aims to raise awareness in the Bishops’ Conferences and national Caritas on the phenomenon of trafficking, suggesting the possible initiatives to counter it. “According to ILO estimates, there are at least 2.4 million trafficked persons at any given point in time. Yet there are only a few thousand convictions of traffickers every year. Most of the victims are not identified and consequently never receive justice for the damage inflicted upon them. Despite growing awareness and more effective law enforcement responses, trafficking remains a low-risk criminal enterprise with high returns. The ILO estimates that annual profits generated from trafficking in human beings are as high as US$32 billion”. After providing some food for thought about the reality and the root causes of this “modern form of slavery”, the document points out four options of intervention for the Church: prevention and awareness activities targeted at risk groups, educators and professionals, or to the general public; assistance to trafficked persons by providing them a secure shelter, individual social, medical, psychological and legal assistance, and vocational training; commitment of political advocacy; “Networking” within organizations linked to the Church and the Church itself, to strengthen collaboration and coordination of the various initiatives, as well as with Church-related organizations. One can raise awareness, the document suggests, in communities, schools, parishes and social centers about trafficking; organizing prayers and information events on the International Day against human trafficking ; developing projects aimed at offering assistance to victims; establishing collaboration with other local organizations; advocating for anti-trafficking laws and their enforcement in their respective countries; developing guidelines based on local context….
(Vatican Radio) World leaders meeting at the Vatican for a conference on climate change have issued a final statement, declaring that “human-induced climate change is a scientific reality” and “its decisive mitigation is a moral and religious imperative for humanity.”
The statement says that humans have the technological and financial means, and the know-how, to combat human-induced climate change, while at the same time eliminating global poverty.
The Workshop, entitled “Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity: The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Humanity” was organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, SDSN and Religions for Peace.
Below, please find the full text of the Final Declaration from the Workshop:
Declaration of Religious Leaders, Political Leaders, Business Leaders, Scientists and Development Practitioners
28 April 2015
We the undersigned have assembled at the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences to address the challenges of human-induced climate change, extreme poverty, and social marginalization, including human trafficking, in the context of sustainable development. We join together from many faiths and walks of life, reflecting humanity’s shared yearning for peace, happiness, prosperity, justice, and environmental sustainability. We have considered the overwhelming scientific evidence regarding human-induced climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and the vulnerabilities of the poor to economic, social, and environmental shocks.
In the face of the emergencies of human-induced climate change, social exclusion, and extreme poverty, we join together to declare that:
Human-induced climate change is a scientific reality, and its decisive mitigation is a moral and religious imperative for humanity;
In this core moral space, the world’s religions play a very vital role. These traditions all affirm the inherent dignity of every individual linked to the common good of all humanity. They affirm the beauty, wonder, and inherent goodness of the natural world, and appreciate that it is a precious gift entrusted to our common care, making it our moral duty to respect rather than ravage the garden that is our home;
The poor and excluded face dire threats from climate disruptions, including the increased frequency of droughts, extreme storms, heat waves, and rising sea levels;
The world has within its technological grasp, financial means, and know-how the means to mitigate climate change while also ending extreme poverty, through the application of sustainable development solutions including the adoption of low-carbon energy systems supported by information and communications technologies;
The financing of sustainable development, including climate mitigation, should be bolstered through new incentives for the transition towards low-carbon energy, and through the relentless pursuit of peace, which also will enable the shift of public financing from military spending to urgent investments for sustainable development;
The world should take note that the climate summit in Paris later this year (COP21) may be the last effective opportunity to negotiate arrangements that keep human- 2 induced warming below 2-degrees C, and aim to stay well below 2-degree C for safety, yet the current trajectory may well reach a devastating 4-degrees C or higher;
Political leaders of all UN member states have a special responsibility to agree at COP21 to a bold climate agreement that confines global warming to a limit safe for humanity, while protecting the poor and the vulnerable from ongoing climate change that gravely endangers their lives. The high-income countries should help to finance the costs of climate-change mitigation in low-income countries as the high-income countries have promised to do;
Climate-change mitigation will require a rapid world transformation to a world powered by renewable and other low-carbon energy and the sustainable management of ecosystems. These transformations should be carried out in the context of globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals, consistent with ending extreme poverty; ensuring universal access for healthcare, quality education, safe water, and sustainable energy; and cooperating to end human trafficking and all forms of modern slavery;
All sectors and stakeholders must do their part, a pledge that we fully commit to in our individual capacities.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Tuesday that poverty is the great teaching Jesus gave us and we can find his face among the poor and needy. Stressing that the poor are not a burden but a resource, he said he wished that both the city of Rome and the local Church community could be more attentive, caring and considerate towards those in need and that Christians could knee before a poor person. The Pope’s words came during a video message which was broadcast at a charity theatre performance organised by Caritas Roma.
“If it were not for you” was the title of the fund-raising performance at Rome’s Brancaccio theatre where the cast were not professional actors but instead the poor and needy who are being sheltered at Caritas hostels in the capital. The performers explored the theme of love that included unhappy love stories, the love they bear for their children and parents, for life and for God.
In his video message Pope Francis told the performers that they will be conveying a precious teaching not just on the theme of love, but also on our need for each other, on solidarity and how amidst all the difficulties we can discover God’s love for us.
Poverty, he said, is the great teaching that Jesus gave us and he assured the performers that they are never a burden for us. Instead they represent a resource without which our attempts to discover the face of Jesus would be in vain.
He concluded his address by saying how much he wished that the city of Rome could shine with the light of its compassion and its welcome for those who are suffering, who are fleeing from war and death, and respond with a smile to all those who have lost hope. Pope Francis said he wished for the same on the part of the Church community in Rome so that it may be more attentive, caring and considerate towards the poor and vulnerable and recognize in them the face of our Lord. How I wish, he said, that Christians could kneel in veneration when a poor person enters the church.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) World leaders meeting at the Vatican for a conference on climate change have issued a final statement, declaring that “human-induced climate change is a scientific reality” and “its decisive mitigation is a moral and religious imperative for humanity.” The statement says that humans have the technological and financial means, and the know-how, to…
Read more
(Vatican Radio) World leaders meeting at the Vatican for a conference on climate change have issued a final statement, declaring that “human-induced climate change is a scientific reality” and “its decisive mitigation is a moral and religious imperative for humanity.” The statement says that humans have the technological and financial means, and the know-how, to…
Read more