Pope Condemns Human Trafficking at Conference Involving Church Leaders, Chaldean Officials

Steve K. Francis, a leader of investigations at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, speaks as representatives of the Santa Marta Group hold a news conference at the Vatican after a meeting with Pope Francis May 19, 2022.

By Inés San Martín

ROME – Human trafficking and modern-day slavery have long been at the top of Pope Francis’s agenda, as shown at a meeting with the Santa Marta Group, a coalition of police forces and the Catholic Church created to fight the problem.

Thanking the group for their work, the pope said that the commercialization of human beings is a “criminal activity that violates the dignity and rights of men, women and children,” leaving long-lasting effects upon the victims and society.

The pontiff condemned the fact that modern forms of slavery continue to spread, “even within the most developed areas of our world,” and called on the international community to increase its fight against human trafficking, taking into consideration “a number of broader realities,” including the use of technology and social media, “as well as the need for a renewed ethical vision of our political, economic and social life, one centered not on profit but on persons.”

Steve Francis is the acting executive associate director for Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

It is estimated that 40 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking. Francis said it is a global problem that requires a local solution.

“This international forum will allow us to be more strategic around the world,” he said. “Law enforcement is not the solution alone: We cannot arrest our way out of these crimes. We need to focus on victims first and foremost.”

– Cruxnews