VATICAN (CNS): Pope Francis encouraged decisive action against human trafficking and female genital mutilation.
“Faced with these scourges of humanity, I express my sorrow and I urge all those with responsibility to act decisively to prevent both exploitation and the humiliating practices that afflict women and girls in particular,” the pope said on February 6, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
After praying the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said, “Approximately three million girls undergo this operation every year, often in conditions that are very dangerous to their health.”
He said, “This practice, unfortunately widespread in various regions of the world, demeans the dignity of women and gravely undermines their physical integrity.”
The pope also highlighted the celebration the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, on February 8, the memorial of St. Josephine Bakhita, and called the crime of human trafficking “a deep wound, inflicted by the shameful pursuit of economic interests without any respect for the human person.”
Pope Francis said, “So many girls—we see them on the streets—who are not free, are slaves of traffickers, who send them to work and, if they do not bring the money, beat them. This is happening in our cities today. Let us really think about it.”
The pope greeted women religious in the square who are part of the Talitha Kum network, working against human trafficking.
“Thank you for what you do, for your courage. Thank you. I encourage you in your work,” he said before blessing a statue of St. Josephine Bakhita by artist ,Timothy Schmalz. The artwork titled, Let the oppressed go free, was dedicated to victims of trafficking and to all women, particularly women religious who are committed to their liberation.
