Vatican official urges everyone to combat human trafficking

(May 09, 2012) According to a top Vatican official trade in human beings is considered the second most profitable criminal activity worldwide, after trafficking in illegal weapons.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace made the comments at a day-long International Conference in the Vatican on Tuesday on “Combatting Human Trafficking.” The prelate said that despite the historical struggles and wars and despite over a century of international law, enriched by dozens of agreements and declarations in the world has banned all forms of slavery and human trafficking, there are still millions and millions of victims. Men, women and children are bought and sold like commodities. Cardinal Turkson said it is necessary that every person of goodwill should endeavour to build a more just international social order, so that poverty and under-development cease to be a fertile ground in which traffickers find potential victims. Stating that in this field the work of the Church has been very fruitful, the prelate expressed his gratitude for the services rendered by the Church through its pastoral care of victims on several fronts. In conclusion Cardinal Turkson told Conference participants not to be discouraged seeing the sufferings of such a large part of humanity, as in addition to those seeking to get rich by exploiting other people’s lives, he said there is another humanity made up of men and women, who devote their lives to fight against the scourge of trafficking in human beings.