Pope encourages Brazilian Church’s Lenten campaign

March 07, 2014 - Pope Francis has strongly endorsed this year’s Lenten campaign by the Catholic bishops of Brazil to combat human trafficking. The Brazilian bishops have chosen, “Brotherhood and human trafficking” as the theme of this year’s Lenten Fraternity Campaign, on the motto, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” taken from the Letter to the Galatians. In a message to the Brazilian Church, the Pope wrote: “It is not possible to remain indifferent, being aware that human beings are bought and sold like goods!” As examples of this he recalled the adoption of children for the extraction of their organs, of women deceived and obliged to prostitute themselves, of workers exploited and denied rights or voice… The Holy father argued that Lent offers opportunities not only to confront this outrage, but also to examine one’s conscience and ask, “have we permitted a human being to be seen as an object, to be put on show in order to sell a product or to satisfy an immoral desire?” “Be sure,” the Pope warned, “if I offend the human dignity of others, it is because I have previously divested myself of my own.” He wondered how one could proclaim the joy of Easter without lending support to those who are denied their freedom on this earth.

The Brazilian Church’s 51^st Lenten campaign kicked off on Ash Wednesday, March 5, and includes a series of initiatives aimed towards raising awareness, formation and prayer to enable a better understanding of the phenomenon of human trafficking and to prepare “pastoral agents” who will be able to act as “antennae” within communities who are committed to the fight against human trafficking.