On Thursday, February 8, the Catholic Church will observe the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. This is the same day as the feast day of Saint Josephine Bakhita, the patroness of human trafficking survivors. Abducted in the 1870s in Sudan at the age of seven, Saint Josephine endured slavery and trafficking. Eventually freed from captivity in Italy, she joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity and was canonized by Saint John Paul II in 2000.
Pope Francis declared that human trafficking “disfigures dignity” because exploitation and subjugation limit freedom and turn people into objects to use and discard while the system of trafficking profits from this injustice and wickedness. Bishop Seitz, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, echoed Pope Francis’ call to uphold human dignity and underscored the need for collective action:
“It is incumbent upon all of us to unite in promoting efforts that prevent the evil of human trafficking. I join our Holy Father in inviting the faithful and all people of good will to uphold and affirm human dignity and grow in solidarity with those who are vulnerable to exploitation and have been impacted by this terrible evil of modern-day slavery. Inspired by Saint Josephine’s life, may we accompany them in the pursuit of justice. We also recognize the important role of governments in addressing the conditions that lead to trafficking, and we remain committed to working with our own government and fellow members of civil society to develop and implement anti-trafficking efforts.”
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