Human trafficking group must walk with victims, says Pope Francis

Pope Francis has urged a group of international police commissioners and Catholic bishops to do more to help victims of human trafficking.

The group, which gathered in the Spanish town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, near Madrid in later October, and was supported by the attendance of Queen Sofia of Spain, were put together last year to exert society to eradicate the, as Francis called it, "open wound on the body of contemporary society" that is human trafficking.

"You … by your mission are called to be near to these victims and to accompany them on a pathway of dignity and freedom," the Pope wrote in a message addressed to the Santa Marta Group.

The Santa Marta Group, chaired by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe and including The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols (both pictured above) was meeting for just the third time to discuss its reaction to the United Nations launch of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals include a call to all members of the United Nations to "take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour".

In his message, the Pope referred to the development goals, saying: "Today, the 193 states that belong to the UN have a new moral imperative to combat human trafficking, which is a real crime against humanity."

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Francis called on police chiefs and bishops to carry out the delicate task of "ensuring that governments reach the victims in a direct, immediate, constant, effective, and concrete way".

He encouraged members of the Santa Marta Group to turn to the United Nations as a source of newfound support.

The success of the group depends heavily on the cooperation among police chiefs and bishops, the pope said. Each has their own mission, and when communicated successfully to each other, there will be an effective and concrete way to handle the problem at hand, he said.

"With the help of God and your cooperation, this indispensable service will be able to liberate the victims of new forms of slavery, rehabilitate the excluded, unmask the traffickers and those who create this market, and provide effective help to cities and nations," the Pope said.