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Pope calls for end to modern slavery and human trafficking in first 2015 Mass

Friday, January 2nd 2015 - 05:33 UTC
Full article 3 comments
The service at St. Peter's Basilica marked the Catholic Church's World Day of Peace, with this year's theme: “No Longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters.” The service at St. Peter's Basilica marked the Catholic Church's World Day of Peace, with this year's theme: “No Longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters.”

In his first mass of 2015 Pope Francis has urged people of all religions and cultures to unite to fight modern slavery and human trafficking, saying that everyone had a God-given right to be free. The service at St. Peter's Basilica marks the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace. This year's theme is “No Longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters.”

 ”All of us are called (by God) to be free, all are called to be sons and daughters, and each, according to his or her own responsibilities, is called to combat modern forms of enslavement. From every people, culture and religion, let us join our forces,“ he said.

Last month Francis appealed to consumers to shun low-cost goods that may be the product of forced labor or other forms of exploitation.

That message was sent to heads of state and governments, international institutions and parishes throughout the 1.2 billion-member Church. The Argentine pope has made defense of migrants and workers a central issue of his papacy. At a Vespers service on New Year's Eve, he condemned administrators and criminals in Rome accused of pocketing public funds meant to help poor migrants, urging a ”spiritual and moral renewal“.

The second global slavery index released in November by the Walk Free Foundation, an Australian-based human rights group, estimated that almost 36 million people were living as slaves, trafficked into brothels, forced into manual labor, victims of debt bondage or born into servitude.

After Mass, the pope delivered his traditional New Year's Day noon address to tens of thousands of people, most of whom took part in peace marches to the Vatican.

”Peace is always possible but we have to seek it. Let us pray for peace,” he told the crowd of people carrying balloons and banners with peace slogans.

Categories: Politics, International.
Tags: Pope Francis.

Top Comments

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  • Britworker

    I preferred his EU speech better comparing it to a infertile old woman.

    Jan 03rd, 2015 - 12:19 pm 0
  • ChrisR

    If the popsicle REALLY wants people to be free he should disband the RCC, tell everybody the TRUTH that there is no god so what you have now you had better make the best of it because when you are dead that's it.

    He could also disburse all the money and property to the poor bastards who gave it to RCC in the foolish belief it helped them get into heaven.

    If he managed that I would be impressed.

    Jan 03rd, 2015 - 01:31 pm 0
  • GeoffWard2

    I wish him all the best in this campaign.
    There are more slaves in this world than we could ever shake a stick at.
    The world needs a focus for leadership to dismantle the slave trades -
    if it were Pope Francis and he became successful, he could become the most famous Pope ever.

    Jan 03rd, 2015 - 07:25 pm 0
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