Holy See condemns all criminal activities

(June 22,2010) The ability to communicate and trade with people in all corners of the globe, has promoted global solidarity and commerce, but it has also led to an escalation in crime across national boundaries, Vatican’s top official told a high level United Nations meeting in New York. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Vatican’s Permanent Observer at the UN told participants at the meeting on “Transnational Organised Crime,” that the main result of an interconnected world is the ever-growing interconnected nature of the crime. He pointed out that this globalized nature of the crime presents new challenges to legal and judicial mechanisms, as they attempt to hold criminals accountable and protect their citizens.
Archbishop Migliore pointed out that today, millions of people are victims of trafficking, of which, over 70% , almost all women and girls, are trafficked for the purpose of sex exploitation. He noted that the transnational trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation is based on a balance between the supply of victims from sending countries and the demand in receiving countries. The prelate lamented that rather than effectively addressing the demand, more and more laws are passed, which seek to legitimize this dehumanising work. The prelate also spoke of the global drug trade that continues to have devastating effects on individuals, families and communities around the world, He said the activities of all criminals and their organisations that disrupt the common good, must be urgently addressed by all legitimate means, to allow families and communities to live in peace.