(Vatican Radio) Here in Rome a meeting organized by the US Embassy to the Holy See in conjunction with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops focused on maritime trafficking and modern slavery at sea.
The July meeting shone the spotlight on the global scourge that violates the human dignity of laborers at all stages of the seafood supply chain and aquaculture industries.
Kari Johnstone , Deputy Director of the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons was at the Rome meeting to connect with the USCCB’s advisory group called Compass , which is a coalition of organizations and ministries promoting the abolition of slavery at sea.
She told Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni that it was a wonderful occasion which brought together people from both Catholic and non-Catholic organizations who are working together to combat human trafficking at sea…
Listen :
Kari Johnstone says that she deeply appreciates the fact that the meeting brought together religious organizations, other civil society groups, government representatives as well as the private sector:
“it really takes a chorus of voices to try and combat this crime that seems to be growing and evolving. To be able to get ahead of it and stay ahead of it we need to work together which is one of the reasons we are so thrilled Pope Francis has brought his voice with such moral clarity to this issue that is indeed one of the most challenging of our time” she says.
She points out that not only has he used his voice and moral authority to draw attention to and to denounce the issue, but also his convening power to bring together leaders on at least three different occasions where he has hosted summits at the Vatican.
“We’re thrilled to see that very pro-active and visionary leadership” she says.
Johnstone speaks of the incredible and precious work so many nuns and religious do in combatting trafficking and in assisting the victims.
“They are in many places around the world, on the frontline, they are the service providers; they are often the first people trafficking victims have interaction with, they may be the ones who explain to them this is a crime […] and they provide critical services to trafficking victims in many places where there are no other people providing services to them” she says.
She also points out that they are also very useful in helping experts, judges, policymakers involved in fighting the crime to better understand the problem because they often have “unique insight and access to the victims”.
Johnstone points out that during this meeting of the advisory group of Compass focusing on trafficking at sea, it is largely through the pastorship at ports for example that many of the victims receive basic assistance and perhaps a sympathetic ear.
Johnstone says a distinction must be made between trafficking at sea and migration and between smuggling and trafficking.
“Smuggling, as defined by international law, is really an immigration crime: it’s a crime against a State and its immigration policies” she says.
Many people she points out will voluntarily pay smugglers to help them cross borders (usually out of desperation) and often, somewhere along the line, many of them will eventually become trafficking victims.
“Human trafficking is a crime against individuals, where they are exploited through forced fraud or coercion. It may be sexual exploitation, it may be labour exploitation through forced labour” she says.
She says that at sea human trafficking often takes place within the fishing and seafood industries.
“Fisherman are often lured through false promises or fraudulent recruitment practices, even if they voluntarily sign up to work on a fishing boat, once they get there they are stuck on the boat for months – sometimes years – at a time, and the abuses we hear about are very disturbing” she says.
Johnstone goes on to talk about the work the US State Department Office is doing to combat and monitor the trafficking of persons and also about the importance of awareness raising and what can be done by civil society – across the board – to fight this crime.
“Civil society, religious communities, consumers, the private sector and governments all have a role to play in combatting this crime” she says and she points out some indicators to look out for.
Trafficking, she says, affects a wide range of people throughout the world, and although the victims are prevalently poor and uneducated people, in fact “it can happen anywhere to anyone”.
Johnstone also speaks about the progress that has been made in the past years to fight trafficking but points out that it is a hidden crime so it is very difficult to measure. And she says so many victims are psychologically manipulated by traffickers and are afraid to speak to authorities about their situation and this makes it very difficult to bring the extent and the gravity of the crime to light.
“That’s one of the reasons we think it is so important to identify trafficking victims as ‘victims’ – recognize them as such – and it is very important that governments don’t penalize the victims for any non-violent crimes they may have been forced to commit” she says.
It’s been good here in Rome, Johnstone concludes, meeting with the Advisory Council of Compass and seeing just how many people are bringing their voices to this so that the chorus of voices can get louder and stronger and raise awareness and improve all of our collective efforts.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis made a private pilgrimage on Thursday to the Italian town of Assisi and spoke about the importance of forgiveness, saying only the path of forgiveness can truly renew the Church and the world. He lamented that “too many people are caught up in resentment and harbour hatred because they are incapable of forgiving.” “These people,” he went on, “ruin their own lives and the lives of those around them.”
The Pope’s words came during an address delivered inside the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi after earlier going to pray in silence inside the small Porziuncola chapel where the Italian saint founded the Franciscan order in the 13th century. The purpose of Pope Francis’ pilgrimage there was to mark the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi” during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Please find below a translation into English of Pope Francis’ prepared remarks inside Assisi’s Basilica of St Mary of the Angels:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today I would like, before all else, to recall the words that, according to an ancient tradition, Saint Francis spoke in this very place, in the presence of all the townsfolk and bishops: “I want to send you all to heaven!” What finer thing could the Poor Man of Assisi ask for, if not the gift of salvation, eternal life and unending joy, that Jesus won for us by his death and resurrection?
Besides, what is heaven if not the mystery of love that eternally unites us to God, to contemplate him forever? The Church has always professed this by expressing her belief in the communion of saints. We are never alone in living the faith; we do so in the company of all the saints and of our loved ones who practised the faith with joyful simplicity and bore witness to it by their lives. There is a bond, unseen but not for that reason any less real, which makes us, by baptism, “one body” moved by “one Spirit” (cf. Eph 4:4). When Saint Francis asked Pope Honorius III to grant an indulgence to all who visited the Porziuncula, he was perhaps thinking of Jesus’ words to the disciples: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn 14:2-3).
Forgiveness – pardon – is surely our direct route to that place in heaven. Here at the Porziuncola everything speaks to us of pardon! What a great gift the Lord has given us in teaching us to forgive and in this way to touch the Father’s mercy! We have just heard the parable where Jesus teaches us to forgive (cf. Mt 18:21-35). Why should we forgive someone who has offended us? Because we were forgiven first, and of infinitely more. The parable says exactly this: just as God has forgiven us, so we too should forgive those who do us harm. So too does the prayer that Jesus taught us, the Our Father, in which we say: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt 6:12). The debts are our sins in the sight of God, and our debtors are those whom we, for our part, must forgive.
Each of us might be that servant in the parable burdened with so great a debt that he could never repay it. When we kneel before the priest in the confessional, we do exactly what that servant did. We say, “Lord, have patience with me”. We are well aware of our many faults and the fact that we often fall back into the same sins. Yet God never tires of offering us his forgiveness each time we ask for it. His is a pardon that is full and complete, one that assures us that, even if we fall back into the same sins, he is merciful and never ceases to love us. Like the master in the parable, God feels compassion, a mixture of pity and love; that is how the Gospel describes God’s mercy towards us. Our Father is moved to compassion whenever we repent, and he sends us home with hearts calm and at peace. He tells us that all is remitted and forgiven. God’s forgiveness knows no limits; it is greater than anything we can imagine and it comes to all who know in their hearts that they have done wrong and desire to return to him. God looks at the heart that seeks forgiveness.
The problem, unfortunately, comes whenever we have to deal with a brother or sister who has even slightly offended us. The reaction described in the parable describes it perfectly: “He seized him by the throat and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’” (Mt 18:28). Here we encounter all the drama of our human relationships. When we are indebted to others, we expect mercy; but when others are indebted to us, we demand justice! This is a reaction unworthy of Christ’s disciples, nor is it the sign of a Christian style of life. Jesus teaches us to forgive and to do so limitlessly: “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven” (v. 22). What he offers us is the Father’s love, not our own claims to justice. To trust in the latter alone would not be the sign that we are Christ’s disciples, who have obtained mercy at the foot of the cross solely by virtue of the love of the Son of God. Let us not forget, then, the harsh saying at the end of the parable: “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (v. 35).
Dear brothers and sisters, the pardon of which Saint Francis made himself a “channel” here at the Porziuncola continues to “bring forth heaven” even after eight centuries. In this Holy Year of Mercy, it becomes ever clearer that the path of forgiveness can truly renew the Church and the world. To offer today’s world the witness of mercy is a task from which none of us can feel exempted. The world needs forgiveness; too many people are caught up in resentment and harbour hatred, because they are incapable of forgiving. They ruin their own lives and the lives of those around them rather than finding the joy of serenity and peace. Let us ask Saint Francis to intercede for us, so that we may always be humble signs of forgiveness and channels of mercy.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis was making a private pilgrimage to the Italian hill town of Assisi on Thursday afternoon to visit the Porziuncola chapel there to mark the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi.”
The Porziuncola is a small chapel housed inside the town’s Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels which St. Francis of Assisi restored and where he founded the Franciscan order at the start of the 13th century.
Pope Francis previously visited Assisi on the feast day of the Italian saint, his namesake, on October the 4th, 2013.
His visit this year coincides with the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi” which is the possibility to receive a plenary indulgence during the first two days of August. The tradition began after the saint received a divine vision and asked God to grant an indulgence to all pilgrims who visit the church.
Pope Francis’ Schedule:
The Pope will arrive in Assisi by helicopter around 3.40 pm and will go to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels where he will pray inside the Porziuncola chapel. Afterwards he will offer a reflection on forgiveness taken from the Gospel of Matthew and then meet with Franciscan bishops and superiors before addressing pilgrims gathered in the square outside the basilica.
At 6pm the Pope will be taken by car to the Migaghelli sports field where he will board the helicopter for his flight back to the Vatican.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with participants in the Dominican General Chapter on Thursday ahead of his afternoon visit to Assisi, speaking to them about the need to incarnate the Gospel through preaching, witness, and charity. The audience with Pope Francis concludes the General Chapter marking 800 years since the founding of the Order of Preachers by St. Dominic. ****************************** Beginning with a joke about his day’s activities, Pope Francis laughingly said his day could be called “A Jesuit among Friars”, since it saw him meet with the spiritual children of the contemporaries St. Dominic and St. Francis. Putting jokes aside, the Holy Father got to the heart of the matter, speaking to the Dominicans gathered about the need to incarnate the Gospel through preaching, witness, and charity. He said it was God who inspired St. Dominic to found the Order of Preachers and put preaching at the heart of their mission, just as Jesus had taught his disciples. “It is the Word of God which burns from within and incites us to go out and proclaim Jesus Christ to all peoples. The Founding Father said, ‘First contemplate, and then teach’. Evangelized by God to evangelize. Without a deep personal union with Him, preaching may be very perfect, very rational, even admirable, but it will never touch the heart, which is what must change.” The Word of God also requires witness , he said. “Teachers faithful to the truth and worthy witnesses of the Gospel. The witness incarnates what is taught, makes it tangible, makes it call, and leaves no one indifferent. [The witness] adds to the truth the joy of the Gospel, aware of being loved by God and the object of His infinite mercy.” Lastly, charity is necessary for the preacher and witness. Referring to the early life of St. Dominic, the Pope said it was the living, suffering body of Christ which was inscribed in his entire existence. “It is the body of Christ, alive and suffering, which cries out to the preacher and does not leave him tranquil. The cry of the poor and discarded awakens and makes us understand the compassion which Jesus had for the people. […] It is in the encounter with the living body of Christ that we are evangelizers, that we recover the passion to be preachers and witnesses of His love, and that we free ourselves from the dangerous temptation, extremely actual today, of Gnosticism.” Preaching, witness, and charity. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) At the conclusion of his Wednesday General Audience , Pope Francis delivered his message for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro , urging Brazilians to work for a more just and safe country.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
With the Olympic Games 2016 getting underway in Rio on Saturday, August 6th, Pope Francis told all those involved to ‘fight the good fight’ and finish the race together.
He said “in a world thirsting for peace, tolerance, and reconciliation”, the prize for all participants and spectators of the Games consisted in something much more precious than a medal.
Their prize, he said, is “the construction of a civilization in which solidarity reigns and is based upon the recognition that we are all members of the same human family, regardless of the differences of culture, skin color, or religion.”
The Holy Father also expressed his desire that all Brazilians, “who with their joy and characteristic hospitality have organized the ‘Feast of Sport’, … that this will be an opportunity to overcome difficult moments and commit themselves to working as a team to build a more just and safe country, betting all on a future full of hope and joy.”
A Vatican Radio English translation of Pope Francis’ message for the Olympics is below:
I would like to send an especially warm greeting to the Brazilian people, in particular to the city of Rio de Janeiro, which is hosting the athletes and passionate fans from all over the world on the occasion of the Olympics. In a world thirsting for peace, tolerance, and reconciliation, I hope that the spirit of the Olympic Games inspires all – participants and spectators – to “fight the good fight” and finish the race together (cf. 2 Tim 4,7-8), desiring to obtain as a prize, not a medal, but something much more precious: the construction of a civilization in which solidarity reigns and is based upon the recognition that we are all members of the same human family, regardless of the differences of culture, skin color, or religion. And for all Brazilians, who with their joy and characteristic hospitality have organized the ‘Feast of Sport’, I hope that this will be an opportunity to overcome difficult moments and commit themselves to working as a team to build a more just and safe country, betting all on a future full of hope and joy. May God bless you all!
(from Vatican Radio)…