APRIL: Fundamental rights
MARCH: The sacrament of reconciliation
FEBRUARY: For women who are victims of violence
DECEMBER: For a life of prayer
NOVEMBER: Artificial Intelligence
It is “a festival of films about trafficking and the moves to combat what Pope Francis has described as a ‘crime against humanity’,” stated RENATE, which is inviting people to submit short four-minute films.
Lockdown measures have increased the difficulty for trafficking victims of escaping and finding help when they are held in situations against their will, says Caritas International.
“We must be under no illusions – sex trafficking is happening in every city, town and village across the country, and it is overwhelmingly women and girls who are sacrificed to fill the demand for sexual gratification from so-called ‘sex buyers’,” said Ruhama CEO Barbara Condon.
JUNE : Compassion for the world
May: Deacons
April: Liberation from addictions
Catholics in China
Hear the cries of migrants
“Christians are called to make the connection between faith and earth, between theology and ecology, constructing common cause with those who challenge confinement and usher in freedom. This is where we will find Jesus Christ today” – Archbishop Michael Jackson.
"Voters have a duty to inform themselves on the position of election candidates in respect of their willingness to support and cherish equally the lives of mothers and their unborn children" – bishops in Northern Ireland.
“Let us resolve to raise awareness, to keep our eyes open and to cooperate at all levels of society for an end to this evil in our midst,” says Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh.
Pope Francis and Cardinal Pietro Parolin highlight the work done by church initiatives such as Talitha Kum and the Santa Marta Group in fighting this global scourge.
The Jesuit Refugee Service has called for the restoration of search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean following drowning of 150 people in a shipwreck on Thursday.
“From our extensive experience it is clear the immigration system is crying out for reform,” says Catherine Cosgrave, Managing Solicitor, Immigrant Council of Ireland.
They may not look like victims of sex trafficking because they are not locked away, and they may be able to attend health checks or go to Western Union to wire some money home.
“Any man, woman or child who has been trafficked, or could be trafficked, clearly needs our unconditional love.”
Human Trafficking
Organised by the Santa Marta Group (preventing human trafficking and modern slavery), the conference has as its theme ‘Church and state working together to restore dignity to trafficked persons’.
“We, at MECPATHS, remain fixed in our efforts to reach out to hotels, to reach out to offer supported learning to hoteliers and the hotel industry to make a difference” – JP O’Sullivan.
Prestigious honour recognises Sr Imelda Poole’s "outstanding service in combatting human trafficking and modern slavery".
Always remember the victim at the centre of this evil crime; the enslaved person who demands our action in combating trafficking - Cardinal Nichols
Caritas Bakhita House provides women escaping modern slavery and human trafficking with safety. In 2016 some 50 people availed of its services.
Amazon's indigenous people are “often forgotten and without the prospect of a serene future because of the crisis of the Amazonian rain forest, a ‘lung’ of primary importance for our planet.”
State-sanctioned executions of people suspected of being drug users or dealers in the Philippines have reached a high of about 8,000 since 30 June 2016.
“It seems the male-dominated culture and religious mores are created by paedophiles to satisfy their sexual demands and desires. Such cultural and religious practices have to be outlawed and the laws implemented.”
