Pope backs Brazilian bishops' Lenten drive against human trafficking
March 05, 2014
Pope Francis has strongly endorsed a Lenten campaign by the Catholic bishops of Brazil to rally opposition to human trafficking.
The Brazilian bishops have chosen human trafficking as the theme of their annual Fraternity Campaign, conducted during Lent. In a message of support, the Pope says: “It is not possible to remain indifferent before the knowledge that human beings are bought and sold like goods!”
The Pope continues: “I think of the adoption of children for the extraction of their organs, of woman deceived and obliged to prostitute themselves, of workers exploited and denied rights or a voice, and so on.” He argues that Lent offers opportunities not only to confront this outrage, but also to examine one’s conscience and ask, “have we permitted a human being to be seen as an object?”
“Be sure, if I offend the human dignity of others, it is because I have previously divested myself of my own,” the Pope says.
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