July 16, 2017 - "The Issue of Human Trafficking"

In my column today I want to draw attention to another issue of great concern to the Catholic Bishops of Maryland. This is the issue of human trafficking. On April 3, 2017, our Bishops issued a statement in which they remind us that human trafficking is an international, national, and local scourge and a grave violation of the dignity and freedom of all its victims. Human trafficking includes both labor and sex trafficking, and rivals the global drug industry in its scope and profits. Human trafficking affects the lives of countless victims from all over the world.
The Catholic Bishops of Maryland go on to note that Maryland is not immune from this tragic reality. Indeed, our state is a prime location for local, national, and international trafficking owing to the Interstate 95 corridor that connects multiple major cities in the region, the number of truck and rest stops along the highways, and the ease of travel that the Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall airport allows to and from the state of Maryland.
Our bishops also state that perhaps the most distressing aspect of human trafficking is the cloak of silence gripping its victims. Human trafficking preys upon the vulnerable, such as those seeking to escape poverty and violence, runaways, and those hindered by language barriers and ignorance of the law. The Gospel calls us to break this yoke of modern-day slavery by raising awareness about the scope of this problem and doing all that we can as Catholics to recognize, set free, embrace, and empower our brothers and sisters who are victims of human trafficking.
A lot of work is already being done by multiple entities to rescue and meet the needs of victims of trafficking, to dismantle trafficking networks, to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions, and to write laws to protect victims and prevent others from becoming victims. In solidarity with these efforts our bishops have pledged to devote the resources of the Church to support, unify, and expand these efforts wherever possible.
In their statement of April 3, 2017, the Catholic Bishops of Maryland announce that they will sponsor regional trainings throughout the state beginning in the spring of 2017, at which they will bring together national, state, and local experts who will provide participants with effective tools to combat human trafficking in our local communities.
Our bishops close their statement by reminding us all that Pope Francis has spoken passionately about “this plague on the body of contemporary humanity” from the very beginning of his papacy. Here is a statement that Pope Francis made about this in his Message for the 2015 World Day of Peace:
“ I urgently appeal to all men and women of good will, and all those near or far, including the highest levels of civil institutions, who witness the scourge of contemporary slavery, not to become accomplices in this evil, nor to turn away from the sufferings of our brothers and sisters, our fellow human beings, who are deprived of their freedom and dignity. Instead, may we have the courage to touch the suffering flesh of Christ, revealed in the faces of those countless persons whom he calls ‘the least of these my brethren.’” (Matthew 25:40, 45).
Until next week,
Fr. John Dillon