Human trafficking is “a disgrace,” said Pope Francis as he received a delegation from the international Talitha Kum network on February 7, 2025, on the occasion of the 11th Day of Prayer against Human Trafficking.
The Pope, who has been suffering from bronchitis in recent days, held his audiences in the St. Martha house where he resides, rather than in the Apostolic Palace, thus protecting himself from the fatigue of going back and forth, and the winter cold.
The World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking is celebrated on February 8, the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese nun who was trafficked as a child. This year's theme is “Ambassadors of hope: Together against human trafficking.”
It was in this context that the Pope met with the Talitha Kum network, which since 2009 has brought together the initiatives of religious communities against human trafficking.
With almost 6,000 members, the network supported some 39,000 victims in 107 countries in 2023.
A terrible social scourge
In his address, Pope Francis denounced a “global phenomenon” that has crept “the world over,” claiming “millions of victims -- and continues unabated.”
He urged them to oppose this “terrible social scourge” which “profits from the most vulnerable.”
“Trafficking in human bodies, the sexual exploitation even of small children and forced labor are a disgrace and a very serious violation of fundamental human rights,” the Pontiff said.
To date, there are no reliable global data on human trafficking, which remains difficult to detect. The 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports detecting 74,785 people trafficked worldwide in 2022, representing a 25% increase on 2019 figures.
The number of victims of forced labor rose by 47%.
The Pope's message for the event
In a message dedicated to this world day, made public after the audience, the Pope encourages us to confront this intractable problem in the light of faith.
“It is only by lifting our eyes to Christ, our hope, that we can find the strength for a renewed commitment that does not allow itself to be overcome by the dimension of problems and dramas, but in the darkness strives to light flames of light, which together can illuminate the night until the dawn breaks,” he said.
Indeed, he added, “With the help of God, we can avoid becoming accustomed to injustice and ward off the temptation to think that certain phenomena cannot be eradicated.” Thus, we must not let ourselves be “overcome by the dimension of problems and tragedies.”
He urges the world to “oppose the economic and criminal mechanisms” behind the exploitation of people. The “Spirit of the Risen Lord … teaches us first of all to listen, with closeness and compassion, to the people who have experienced trafficking, to help them.”
Ultimately, putting an end to this practice “requires global responses and a common effort, at all levels, to tackle it.”
“Animated by prayer” and “trusting in the intercession of St. Bakhita,” he says, “we can make a great effort and create the conditions for trafficking and exploitation to be banned and for respect for fundamental human rights to prevail, in fraternal recognition of common humanity.”
Pope's audiences continue despite bronchitis
The 88-year-old pontiff, who has been suffering from bronchitis in recent days, has been holding his audiences from his residence at St. Martha's, rather than from the Apostolic Palace as usual. Photos published by the Vatican media show him smiling and relaxed as he received his guests, blessing children among them.
