The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has described the trafficking in human beings as “a scourge” within the migration phenomena and called for respect of all human beings, especially women’s vulnerabilities. 

“It becomes easy for the trafficker to offer his own ‘services’ to the victims, who often do not even vaguely suspect what awaits them.  In some cases, there are women and girls who are destined to be exploited almost like slaves in their work and not infrequently in the sex industry too” wrote the Holy Father in 2005.

His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, in 1995, condemned the “hedonistic and commercial culture which encourage the systematic exploitation of sexuality and corrupts even very young girls into letting their bodies be used for profit.” (Letter of Pope John Paul II to Women)

And Vatican II had pointed out that “all offences against human dignity such as slavery prostitution, the selling of women and children, and degrading working conditions where men are treated as mere tools for profit rather than free and responsible persons are criminal” which “poison civilisation and they debase the perpetrators more than the victims and militate against the honour of the Creator.”(Gaudiem et Spes, 27)

The Church, indeed the international community have recognised that human trafficking is an affront to the fundamental values which are rooted in the very nature of the human person, which values are shared by all cultures and peoples.

The challenge for the Universal Church and people of good will is how to translate the words of Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II into action.

While it is true that the Catholic Church is already well underway in getting involved in this problem, more need to be done to eliminate human trafficking and modern day slavery.  It would lend impetus if each local bishop were to place the eradication of the scourge a priority on his agenda.

The local Church as well as the national episcopal conference should be more involved particularly in education to warn potential victims from falling for misleading and enticing advertisements for foreign employment.

More has to be done to end the demand for victims of sex trafficking and slavery.  People should be made to understand that it is those men who want acts of prostitution who are creating the demands for sexual slavery.

The local Church and every parish have a special role to play helping everyone to look at the education issue and help address the question of demand, not only for foreign sex workers but also demand for low cost undocumented foreign workers, in the various industries of the country in both the public and private sectors.

There is also a need for the Church to get involved to rehabilitate victims of human trafficking back to their human dignity and free them from the clutches of human traffickers.  Herein lies a pivotal role for each and every parishioner: to alert NGOs such as Tenaganita of the presence of victims of human trafficking in his/her neighbourhood for their rescue and rehabilitation.  This is the least one could do to the “least” of our neighbours.