Newark archbishop joins in New Jersey anti-trafficking initiative

Published: 2004-08-24

NEWARK, N.J. (CNS) -- Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark joined government leaders at an often-impassioned news conference Aug. 23 to announce the launch of an extensive program in northern New Jersey to combat human trafficking and to aid victims. "Evil is always with us in one form or another," the archbishop said at the Archdiocesan Center in Newark. "As human beings, as people of faith, it is our responsibility to ease suffering, to heal those hurt by wrongdoers, to act at every opportunity to build a more just society. In doing so, we are called upon to bring light to the darkness." The first steps in the collaborative effort involve creation of an area law enforcement-based task force, headed by the U.S. Department of Justice, and a public awareness initiative, operated by the New Jersey Anti-Trafficking Coalition, a group of nongovernmental organizations and members of the task force. The program is under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' campaign to rescue and restore victims of human trafficking, whose goal is "to increase the number of identified trafficking victims and to help those victims receive the benefits and services needed to live safely in the U.S.," according to the HHS Web site.

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