February | Parish of St Osmund

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favour from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God. - Isaiah 61:1-2

St Josephine Bakhita: Patron Saint of Human Trafficking Victims

Def0

Defining Human and Sex Trafficking

Human and sex Trafficking is a form of modern day slavery. It is happening in our local communities.

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Know What To Look For

Knowing the signs of human and sex trafficking and responding with the appropriate help could save a life!

Click here to read more

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Report Sex Trafficking

Here you will find information on who to contact. DO NOT WAIT. Your report could the be the difference between slavery and freedom.

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Help Free

How We Can Help

There are a number of ways we can help, please read on:

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PRAYER For victims of human trafficking

We pray for the victims of human trafficking that they may be helped to rebuild their lives after the traumatic experiences they have gone through.

We pray that we, as the Church, will continue to defend victims of human trafficking.

We pray for our governments that they may make and implement laws that will protect victims of modern day slavery.

We pray for those organisations dedicated to eradicating modern day slavery that they will be courageous in the face of challenges.

We pray for those caring for the victims of human trafficking, that their efforts to help the vulnerable and traumatised may not go unrewarded.

St Josephine Bakhita Pray For Us

Our Year of Prayer is intended to deepen our understanding that it is prayer which gives life and strength to our mission. If you would like to find out more, or to get involved in the fight against Modern Slavery and Sex Trafficking you may be interested to find out more about how various agencies of the Catholic Church are working with different organisations in the fight against the evils of this kind.

One is the Santa Marta Group which is an alliance of international police chiefs and bishops from around the world working together with civil society in a process endorsed by Pope Francis who called it “an open wound on the body of contemporary society”, to eradicate human trafficking and modern day slavery.

The Group is led by His Excellency Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. For more detail click here .

Two more are the Conference of Religious of England and Wales and the Arise Foundation who have produced a report that details the work of Catholic and other organisations. The report can be downloaded here (report) .

The report highlights the inspiring work done by 172 members of religious institutes working on the front line against slavery in England and Wales. This is made up of 144 women and 28 men from 73 religious institutes.

In addition to this contribution, religious congregations have provided 29 properties at a value of over £16 million. Some of these properties have been converted into safe houses where recovered victims are housed and can start to rebuild their lives.

As a result of the report the Conference of Religious have invited members of religious congregations in England & Wales to join a new network that is being set up to strengthen the fight against human trafficking. Two meetings are being held in January – one in London and one in Manchester – to lay the foundations of the network.

Information on the Conference of Religious can be found here, and on the Arise Foundation here.

Other organisations who are active in this field are: TRAC - Renate Europe - Medaille Trust.

If you have a heart for justice and peace work in our parish and beyond and would like to join the Salisbury Catholic Justice and Peace group, click here for more information or contact Graham on 333873.