State Department, bishops to collaborate in fight against human trafficking

April 11, 2014

Secretary of State John Kerry has announced that the State Department and the US bishops are collaborating in the fight against human trafficking.

“I remember when I went to the Vatican, just the other day with the president, and we met with the Pope that in the course of some discussions there with His Eminence the Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin, who brought up this as a major interest obviously of the Church,” Kerry said in remarks at the annual meeting of the President's Interagency Task Force To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. ”And as the Pope says, when any man, woman, or child is enslaved anywhere it’s a threat to peace, justice, and human dignity everywhere. So that’s what sort of brings us here. These are not American values, these are universal values.”

“So I’m pleased to announce today that in – that the State Department is planning to work with the Conference of Catholic Bishops in order to map and coordinate the Church’s efforts on a global basis to be able to combat this crime,” Kerry added. “So I think that was a good thing that came out of that meeting. This partnership, we hope, is going to make it a lot easier for people to be able to share information, share best practices, identify caregivers and advocates, and it will ramp up our capacity around the world to be able to identify victims and get them the help that they need.”

 

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Further information:

• Remarks at the Annual Meeting of the President's Interagency Task Force To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (State Department)