United against appalling evil

There has never been anything quite like the collaboration now taking shape between the British Government and the police on the one hand and the Catholic Church on the other, to fight that most odious of modern evils, people trafficking.

Launched at a conference in Rome this week, the support of the Vatican and of Pope Francis in person has already gained the initiative widespread international backing. The heroic work of members of female religious orders in many countries means it has an immediate and compassionate presence in the streets where it is most needed. The strong support of Government, represented by the participation of the British Home Secretary Theresa May, means that government action and parliamentary legislation can be kept in step with what others are doing; and the presence alongside Mrs May of the head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, ensures that the final piece of the jigsaw – law enforcement – is in place.

Nor is any of this participation mere lip service. That they came together with such goodwill is also a tribute to the leader­ship and persuasiveness of Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, who chaired the Vatican conference at the invitation of the Pope. That it happened is a tribute as well to the vision and dedication of two people lower down the chain, Bishop Patrick Lynch, auxiliary bishop in Southwark and head of the Office for Migration Policy in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales; and Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland, head of the trafficking unit in the Metropolitan Police, who is a Catholic. The event itself was sponsored by the Bishops’ Conference, with facilities including a live video link on the conference website. And the police-Church collaboration does not stop there. Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe writes in The Tablet today that he wants London to become the world centre of excellence in this field.

Trafficking is almost always across national boundaries. Speakers who addressed issues ranging from trafficking of women from Thailand to Australia, to the combating of crime syndicates who preyed on vulnerable girls in Romania, warmly welcomed the opportunity to give the issue a higher international profile. As more than one said, it is time politicians worldwide gave this issue much greater recognition.

They also acknowledged the ability of religious groups, especially nuns, to work non-judgementally with victims of trafficking, not just to assist in the preparation of prosecutions, where victims’ cooperation is vital, but also in the difficult work of rehabilitation. Governments cannot put a comforting arm around a lonely girl, broken and weeping, to help her put her life together again. This is front-line work for which female religious orders are ideally suited.

The evil of trafficking is its reduction of a human being to a mere commodity to be used, soiled, exploited and discarded purely for profit, often by means of sexual degradation. It is extremely profitable, and the gangs who engage in it can be utterly ruthless. To see war declared on this disgusting trade – such a declaration is what this event in Rome amounted to – is therefore an extraordinary achievement.