In annual message to world's Buddhists, Vatican suggests joint effort against slavery
April 20, 2015
Buddhists and Christians should work together to combat slavery and human trafficking, the Vatican said in an annual message to the world’s Buddhists.
The message, issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue for the Buddhist feast of Vesakh, draws its theme from this year’s papal message for the World Day of Peace. The Vatican document describes slavery as a “social plague,” and notes that the “Eightfold Path” of Buddhism condemns the trade in humans. The Vatican notes that “we share the conviction that modern slavery and human trafficking are grave crimes, open wounds on the body of contemporary society.”
Vesakh is an annual feast, commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha. The feast is celebrated by different Buddhist communities in April and May.
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