Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Representatives of the Catholic, Anglican and Muslim worlds launch movement to end modern slavery. (AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLARO)

Representatives of the Catholic, Anglican and Muslim worlds gathered for the first time ever in the Vatican press office on March 17 for the launch of Global Freedom Network, an unprecedented interreligious effort to eradicate human trafficking by the end of the decade. The religious bodies will be assisted by the Walk Free Foundation. The new network will press governments to endorse the establishment of the Global Fund to End Slavery and will ask multinational businesses to eradicate slavery from their industrial supply chains. By mobilizing the world’s major faith communities, Global Freedom hopes to bring an end by 2020 to what Pope Francis has called a crime against humanity. Some 30 million men, women and children are currently caught in the clutches of human traffickers, a figure that many believe underreports the true depth of the problem.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

After an early morning attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza, Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire, dialogue and peace in the region.
Something essential is lost when generations remain siloed at church.
Juan MercedJuly 17, 2025
You’ve got a 401K. But do you have a spiritual retirement plan?
Myles N. SheehanJuly 17, 2025
Syrian security forces secure the area near St. Joseph Church in the Bab-Sharqi neighborhood of Damascus, Syria June 23, 2025, following the June 22 suicide bombing at Mar Elias Church. (OSV News photo/Firas Makdesi, Reuters)
A brief opening to shore up progress toward stability in Syria unfortunately coincides with Trump administration decisions to sharply curtail humanitarian and development assistance and to terminate the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Kevin ClarkeJuly 17, 2025