Vatican: Church must play bigger role fighting trafficking of women

Published: 2005-07-11

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The church needs to play a larger role in the global fight against the trafficking of women and girls into the sex trade, said a Vatican document. Given the "dramatic increase in the number of women and girls who are sexually exploited" around the world, there is "an urgent need for pastoral action" that goes beyond existing programs offered by the church, said the statement released by the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. In a six-page document released July 10, the Vatican council offered several recommendations for a plan of action on how the church could do more to combat the global trafficking industry. The document and its recommendations came out of the Vatican's first international meeting June 20-21 on "The Pastoral Care for the Liberation of Street Women."

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