(Vatican Radio) After reciting the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis on Sunday noted that on February 8th the Church celebrates an annual day of prayer against the scourge of human trafficking.Instituted in 2015, the "International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking" is held on the Feast Day of Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese slave girl, who became a Canossian nun, and was declared a Saint in 2000.Crime against humanityPope Francis, who has repeatedly denounced human trafficking as a shameful crime against humanity, said this day offers us all the opportunity to help those who fall victim to the traffickers “to break the heavy chains of exploitation and reclaim their freedom and dignity”.To mark the occasion, English Cardinal Vincent Nichols is taking part in as special prayer service at a school in London on Monday, to highlight the importance of working to combat human trafficking….Listen The cardinals says this day has special reso...
(Vatican Radio) After reciting the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis on Sunday noted that on February 8th the Church celebrates an annual day of prayer against the scourge of human trafficking.
Instituted in 2015, the "International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking" is held on the Feast Day of Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese slave girl, who became a Canossian nun, and was declared a Saint in 2000.
Crime against humanity
Pope Francis, who has repeatedly denounced human trafficking as a shameful crime against humanity, said this day offers us all the opportunity to help those who fall victim to the traffickers “to break the heavy chains of exploitation and reclaim their freedom and dignity”.
To mark the occasion, English Cardinal Vincent Nichols is taking part in as special prayer service at a school in London on Monday, to highlight the importance of working to combat human trafficking….
Listen
The cardinals says this day has special resonance for him because his diocese and the whole bishops conference is “putting a lot of effort into this work” of combatting human trafficking.
He says he’s attending an assembly led by students at the Cardinal Pole Catholic School in east London which has a hall dedicated to St Josephine Bakita. During the service, he says, they’ll be reflecting on the life of the saint and the importance of working to end trafficking which Pope Francis has called “an open wound in the flesh of humanity”.
Prayer for victims of trafficking
Cardinal Nichols concludes with the prayer for all trafficking victims, which is used as the collect on February 8th:
O God, who led Saint Josephine Bakhita from abject slavery
to the dignity of being your daughter and a bride of Christ,
grant, we pray, that by her example
we may show constant love for the Lord Jesus crucified,
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